Director: Gilles Legardinier
Writers: Christel Henon, Gilles Legardinier
Stars: John Malkovich, Fanny Ardant, Émilie Dequenne
Synopsis: A widowed British businessman takes the job as a butler of a manor house in France to keep memories of his late French wife. His life takes a turn as he navigates the eccentric behavior of the lady of the manor and the household staff.
There are films that feel like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day or a cozy blanket around one’s shoulders in winter. Mr. Blake at Your Service is that kind of movie, the one that audiences long for during dark times. It’s a simple film about daily routines. Simple people, even if they live in grand estates.
The film takes us on a journey with Mr. Andrew Blake (John Malkovich), a widowed English businessman who can’t process his wife’s passing. To make peace with his grief and his sudden loneliness without the partner of a lifetime, he decides to take a nostalgic trip down a French manor where he first met his wife. He accidentally gets hired as a butler by a tight-lipped, warm-hearted cook (Émilie Dequenne) who enjoys bossing him around and getting him to do exactly what she says. He makes friends with the eccentric characters on the estate, including the cook’s cat Mephisto, the crazy neighbor/handyman Philippe (Philippe Bas), and the stunning Nathalie Beauvillier (Fanny Ardant), the owner of the place whose vulnerability and regal energy create a halo of the tragic princess trope. She’s both beautiful and proud, too distant to merge with regular people but also too shaken and broken to belong to her world.
Another highlight of this feature is how uncliché -in a movie that is filled with a ton of them- it treats the growing relationship between Mr. Blake and Madame Beauvillier. Ardant and Malkovich play it cool, while endearingly growing into their respective characters. Despite all the French vs. British wars, the grumpy sensitive guy, and the zip-tight cook who hides a world of warmth and passion underneath, the Mr. Blake and Madame Beauvillier relationship is treated like camaraderie rather than a potential romance. It helps that two spectacular actors are at the helm of it, with not just talent but aura that makes what could’ve been a modest attempt at a feel-good movie feel vibrant, fresh and colorful.
Dequenne’s last role as Odile is bittersweet, as her vibrant energy brings back to mind her iconic role as the eponymous Rosetta in the Dardenne brothers’ masterpiece. Her scenes with Malkovich are hilarious and charming, showing her knack for comedy. Malkovich himself is a celebration. It’s exciting and refreshing to see him in a lead role. His career spans a multitude of roles and eccentricities that place him in the same league as Sam Rockwell, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Joaquin Phoenix, and Willem Dafoe. A bunch of weirdos who are chameleonic and cool, Malkovich here embodies their collective energy of excelling at playing both the psycho and the simple man. He exudes charisma and humility, and he portrays Mr.. Blake from a reserved place that often puts him at odds with the other characters, all while remaining composed.
The world is complicated enough, riddled with uncertainty, fear, and discouragement. Sometimes, the best a person can do is watch a lighthearted comedy where nothing bad happens. Mr. Blake at Your Service is about the lost moments in life, the warmth of company, and losing oneself in a foreign land without footing. It’s a heartwarmer, maybe it targets a senior citizen audience more than the average moviegoer, but it’s still a unique slice of life indie film about healing.
P.S. I couldn’t be more grateful for the new trend of movie cats on the rise. Whether Tonic playing Bud in Caught Stealing or Novehka playing Mephisto, there’s something refreshing about seeing more feline heroes on the big screen, stealing cameras from veteran actors and movie stars alike.
