My King

If people do not repair their inner defects, do not rationally observe and manage their own behavior pattern, just follow the instinct to make choices, a lot of times will make the decision to drink poison to quench thirst, and continue to repeat the mistakes, until there is no retreat. Fix yourself. Identify the right people. Do the right thing. These three things may not be done in a lifetime for many people.

Greetings again from the darkness. We have all had that friend who falls head over heels for someone we know is not good for them. If we are a dutiful friend, we make every effort possible to open their eyes before it's too late. Sometimes they are simply too far gone to listen … and what follows is a roller-coaster of emotions, or even an outright train wreck. Writer/director (and sometimes actress) Maiwenn, who was once married to director Luc Besson, finds much to examine in the roller-coaster relationship of Georgio and Marie/Tony.

The story is viewed through the eyes (and recollections) of Marie/Tony played with exuberance by Emmanuelle Bercot. After a skiing "accident", Tony goes to a rehabilitation center to receive post-surgery treatment. While her knee is healing, she also spends her time self-analyzing a tumultuous and destructive relationship with her ex Georgio (Vincent Cassel). It's easy to see the parallels for her learning to walk again, while also learning to live again.

Tony is a successful criminal attorney and self-described "normal" woman. She falls hard for the exciting Georgio, a life-of-the-party type. Tony's brother Solal (Louis Garrel) and Georgio's suicidal ex Agnes (Chrystele Saint Louis Augustin) are both against this relationship, but it's challenging to stop the love bug when it hits this hard. The film acts as a blueprint of how relationships and falling in love can start strong, build to a crescendo, and then crash and burn.

Georgio has many childlike characteristics. He is fine when he gets his way, but explosive and manipulative at the drop of a hat. He is fully engaged in phase one which is filled with passion, lust, fun and excitement; however, once the everyday toil and maintenance of the relationship is required, his bi-polar personality becomes difficult to watch.

Addiction plays a key role here. Georgio is addicted to freedom, partying, and drugs; Tony is addicted to the excitement and passion that he delivers to her "normal" life. There are some cinematically rare "real life" scenes scattered throughout, and none better than the couple's first time in bed, and a later dinner scene where Georgio's charm and manipulation skills are on full display as he puts Tony in a no-win situation.

Vincent Cassel has joined Mads Mikkelsen on my short list of actors that I will watch regardless of the project. His screen presence is powerful and emotionally-driven, and here he generates both admiration and disgust at varying times. We understand why Tony is in a "can't live with him, can't live without him" mode. Emmanuelle Bercot (also a writer and director for other films) manages to cover the full spectrum of emotions during the film, and she takes us along for the self-reflection. We pull for her even as we question her sanity at times. Somehow we get it … he's the king of jerks, but he's her king. If only she had listened...

An excellent film dealing with the complex concept of couple and the vision of each of the two protagonists about love, with their own pasts, their hypothetical skeletons in the closet, their desires, their doubts, their regrets, their professional issues, ... and the faculty of idealizing the partner, ephemerally or perennially.

The actors Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Bercot are fabulous. Georgio is charming and highly sensitive. Tony is fundamentally under his spell and blindly idealizes him. We feel a connection apparently sincere and real between them, with an obvious alchemy. A constructive alchemy first, a little less afterwards. And the director Maïwenn produces an excellent film and demonstrates her undeniable qualities, after the unforgettable Polisse (2011) and its 13 nominations during the César 2012.

As a synthesis: a French must see. 7/8 of 10

I've already written about chemistry between Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni in The Family Man and between Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis in Tumbledown. But chemistry between Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Bercot surpasses everything I've ever seen. In all ups and downs love brings, two of them were able to maintain the same connection throughout the entire movie.

So far, I've seen Vincent Cassel starring in Irreversible and playing Jacques Mesrine in L'ennemi public n°1; two great movies. But his performance in Mon Roi is better than those two - maybe the single greatest performance I've ever seen. His delivery was amazingly realistic - like he didn't even act but acted like in everyday normal life. After seeing Mon Roi Vincent Cassel became Georgio Milevski for me.

Georgio Milevski initially appeared to me as an adulterous, drug using psycho. Nothing more. Maybe charming and funny psycho and hence a dangerous psycho. But as I continued to watch the movie I couldn't help myself not to feel some sympathy for him. Maybe there was something frank and loving about him. Maybe he's loving at the core of his heart which has been ruined by addictions. My reason told me there was nothing good about him but my heart told me a different story - that in which Georgio sincerely struggles to overcome what he had become for the sake of his partner. I'm still not sure who he really is and that makes me uncomfortable because the same feeling must have gone through Tony's head. That ignorance may be the reason she allowed herself to submit to him. I think this attitude lies at the very heart of "can't live with, can't live without" relationships. That's why this impersonation may be the best I've ever seen - it made me feel disturbed and angry but sensible as well since there just is something mysterious about Georgio.

Emmanuelle Bercot played Tony - deeply committed but deeply inside broken women who tolerates more than she should. After seeing Tony's struggles I asked myself again a question which begets a decent answer: why do we remain committed to relationships which bring only pain and misery? Is that love? Can love be destructive towards yourself? No. It's addiction which makes us stick to destructive relationships. Georgio and Tony are somehow very alike: he's addicted to drug and partying but Tony's addicted to him. They're both addicts struggling to quit - Georgio taking drugs and Tony dating Georgio.

The way I interpreted a relationship between Tony's physical rehab and her reminiscence of a relationship is the following: her physical rehab is just a vivid analogy of her psychical rehab; the same way she has to treat her knee in order to be repaired is the way she has to treat her heart. With patience, tenderness and help of other loving people.

In conclusion: this is a type of movie which may touch you deeply if you were ever involved in tumultuous relationship. You may find looking at your past or present relationship as a third person since Mon roi may bring forth some memories.

Tony is recovering from a leg trauma in a rehabilitation centre on the border of the sea. But the real trauma is in her soul. Reflecting on what brought her to this point in her life she is remembering the affair with handsome and unpredictable Georgio, and their turbulent relationship over the last ten years. It brought her happiness but also a lot of pain. How soon will she be back on her feet again? Will she ever?

If you like dramatic love stories you may instantly recognize the premise of the film, it had been used hundreds of times. A heroine going down the memory lane to figure out what had gone wrong. There's one thing, however, that makes MY KING to stand out – it is a very honest film with a very real, raw feel to every scene, performance and dialogue. The very intelligent but plain looking Tony seems like an odd match to charismatic and larger than life Georgio, however the sparks that are flying on screen cannot be ignored. Their affair and their relationship are believable and over the course of the film you will learn them as intimately as if they were your close friends.

There are a lot of jokes, but also a lot of sadness in the film. The film's episodic structure may be a turn off for many, but there is a feeling that the director is always in control, leading the story the right way and fixing things as soon as the narrative begin to stumble a little.

Instead of focusing on the fantastic performances from Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Bercot, I want to say a few words about Louis Garrel. He is only in a supporting role of Tony's younger brother, however his presence adds realism to the story and a much needed comic relief. He is one of those actors who make anything he is in a little better.

MY KING gives us a very unusual relationship, but highlights the problems everyone can identify with. Without preaching or judgement this is an honest portrait of a marriage and love and everything else that comes with it.

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