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★★★½☆
19 March 2020
A movie review of DEERSKIN. |
D: Quentin Dupieux (RUBBER).
S: Jean Dujardin, Adèle Haenel, Albert Delpy.
“Your film is wild, I’m into it,” Denise (Adèle Haenel)
When one of the first scenes of a movie has the protagonist attempting to flush his corduroy blazer down a toilet at a service station, you suspect something funny has begun. THE ARTIST's Oscar winner continually demonstrates his comedy skills. Georges (Jean Dujardin) has come to the middle of nowhere, because of an ad for the titular jacket. That must have been some ad! (But alas, we don’t see it.)
S: Jean Dujardin, Adèle Haenel, Albert Delpy.
“Your film is wild, I’m into it,” Denise (Adèle Haenel)
When one of the first scenes of a movie has the protagonist attempting to flush his corduroy blazer down a toilet at a service station, you suspect something funny has begun. THE ARTIST's Oscar winner continually demonstrates his comedy skills. Georges (Jean Dujardin) has come to the middle of nowhere, because of an ad for the titular jacket. That must have been some ad! (But alas, we don’t see it.)
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The dad of actress-writer-director Julie Delpy (BEFORE MIDNIGHT [2013]) plays the seller. The mysterious Monsieur B. (Albert Delpy) calls the jacket “the beast”. He states it is 100% deerskin. One wondered if this is a magical/cursed/supernatural item. Think GREMLINS [1984]. The deerskin jacket is ugly. There are a lot of tassels. Monsieur B. claims it is from Italy, but that he had to pull off the label because it scratches. Georges is a terrible negotiator, paying 7.5k for it! (Though Monsieur B. throws in a free camcorder with the purchase.) As we later find out, Georges uses all his money. Has Georges been possessed, or is he a fool, or an innocent? Will it be ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ magic beans? DEERSKIN is no a fairy tale, it’s a comedy-horror.
Awkward laughs abound. DEERSKIN concerns a jacket turning an annoying guy into a serial killer. Is the jacket possessed like the director’s earlier movie about a psychopathic vehicle tyre, RUBBER [2010], or is it in the lead’s head? “Killer style” says Georges admiringly of himself in a mirror.
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Georges is separated from his wife. Over the phone, she tells him he no longer exists. For a change of scene, or due to lack of options, he books into a hotel for a month. He claims to the locals that he is a filmmaker. Though, he seems to have barely watched any. Barmaid Denise edits movies in her spare time and joins his made-up project. It becomes a snuff film.
Accompanying the violence is beautiful countryside, but the lighting is muted. The movie has lots of browns. Georges buys more brown deerskin to complete his attire. At one point Denise wears a brown turtleneck and trousers. Her home is unpainted wood panelling and brown curtains. Where they meet is brown. An unusual colour scheme for a horror movie, where reds and blacks often dominate the genre. What is the significance? Monotony of palette equals monotony of their existence?
DEERSKIN does not end how you expect. But as bananas as it is, the film could still have ratcheted up a couple of gears. In the hands of a younger Peter Jackson (BAD TASTE [1987], BRAINDEAD [1992]) or John Carpenter (THE THING [1982]), this could have had epic carnage. As it is, the experience feels like half a flick, albeit an enjoyable one. Think David Brent meets SIGHTSEERS [2012]. At 77 minutes DEERSKIN is too short.
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