Writers: Christel Henon and Gilles Legardinier
Director: Gilles Legardinier
If there’s an actor who likes to keep us on our toes, it’s John Malkovich. We’re used to seeing him immersed in aspects of the surreal and the avant-garde. You might have a bit of Henry James as a palette-cleanser, but in general, you know what you’re going to get.
In an abrupt about-turn, Malkovich’s latest film is a romantic comedy. He plays Andrew Blake, an English businessman, recently widowed, who makes a break for it and travels to France. He locates a chateau online where, years previously, he had met his wife. He is in the mood to reflect, but on arrival, he is shown to the servants’ entrance. In a classic misunderstanding, he is assumed to be an applicant for the butler position, also recently advertised. We’ve all been there.
As a man who finds himself with nothing but loose ends, he is persuaded to give the job a trial run. Put to work straight away by the forceful but talented cook, Odile (played by Emilie Dequenne), Andrew discovers that the chateau is on its knees, financially, and in danger of selling up. Its current owner, Nathalie Beauvillier (a wonderful Fanny Ardant), is also widowed and desperately seeking answers.
If you know how the rest of the film goes after this, you would be wrong. Director Gilles Legardinier creates a quirky, gently humorous world where Andrew discovers that he can, as per title, be of service to those who live and work in the chateau. Malkovich, in comedy mode, is genuinely charming. The script is entirely in French, and he gamely tackles the language which, to an English ear, sounds perfectly serviceable. A running joke in the film is just how quickly the French sniff out his “barbarian” accent. In their review of the film, The Guardian pours scorn on Malkovich’s accent, but they are missing the point. Blake is not a native French speaker. It is technically correct that we hear an audible difference between Malkovich in comparison to the French cast.
The film is not without its issues: a good 20 minutes could have been lopped off the running time and some of the plot points are stretched to the point of disbelief. Mr. Blake is not a challenging film, but its release couldn’t be better timed: it is perfectly pitched for autumn. As the characters walk through the chateau grounds, the changing foliage is beautifully captured by cinematographer, Stephane Le Parc. Yes, it leans heavy on the “time of life” metaphor, but aesthetically, it ties together.
The question of whether you like this film is not located in its performances or the believability of its plot, but if you can accept John Malkovich not being John Malkovich. Overall, the film isn’t entirely successful, but what it does do is ask interesting questions about star power, image and how all that evolves as the actor ages. It will not be one of Malkovich’s lasting performances, but to see him try something new at 71, that’s inspiring.
Mr Blake At Your Service will be in UK Cinemas from 3rd October.
