‘Madeleine Collins’ Review – A Hitchcockian Movie With Many Twists, Turns And A Terrific Virginie Efira

Finding your own identity is an important part of life. It defines who you are, how you think about yourself and how you live life. Becoming your true self is an accumulation of your character traits, environment, family and friends and other little influences. That search for identity, or better said, multiple identities, is the central element of Madeleine Collins.

The young woman (Virginie Efira) in this Hitchcockian movie by the French director Antoine Barraud (The Sinkholes) leads a double life. There’s the one Judith who lives in Paris with her husband, Melvil (Bruno Salomone), and their two children, and there’s the other, who resides in Switzerland with Abdel (Quim Gutiérrez) and their daughter, Ninon (Loïse Benguerel). Barraud tells the suspenseful story from Judith’s perspective; therefore, you know already after 15 minutes what’s going on here. The “how” isn’t very important, as you find out that Judith tells the men she has to travel for work. It’s the “why” that’s the centre of this film.

Slow but steady, you find out that with her multiple lives comes multiple personalities. She can come across as a lovely mother and devoted wife at one moment, but in the next scene, she’s a wicked narcissist. The influence of her toxic mother, Patty (Jacqueline Bisset), doesn’t do Judith any good. Patty’s belittling and emotional abuse are a few of the contributing factors to Judith losing her sense of identity.

Steadily but slowly, writers Héléna Klotz (Atomic Age) and Barraud give you enough information about the connections between Judith and the other characters and what’s to follow. They also play into the audience’s imagination. You become a detective trying to connect the dots and make sense of Judith’s suspicious behaviour. But will you be able to foresee what happens when she keeps on deteriorating and when her eldest son, Joris (Thomas Gioria), finds out about her double life?

We dare to think you won’t, which is excellent because the many twists and turns keep you on your toes. Judith might be a terrible human, but that doesn’t mean her soul is pitch-black. No, the director makes sure you feel empathy and respect for Judith. However, he takes it to a much darker level before you humanize her too much. With someone who’s as hard to predict as Judith and who has no problem crossing certain boundaries, the story can go in any direction. The narrative of this movie shifts between thriller and melodrama, using both flashbacks and conventional storytelling. There are certainly some unexpected discoveries along the way you’ll not be prepared for.

Because the psychological side of things lacks a bit of depth, you might be left wanting to know a bit more about the unhinged Judith and the twisting story. However, don’t let that stop you from seeing Madeleine Collins. After all, it’s a class homage to the classic psychological thrillers thanks to the growing mysteries and the slick cinematography by Gordon Spooner (The Invented Biography).

When Barraud mutinously opens Pandora’s box about Judith’s double life, he gives Efira the stage she deserves. She leads this feature with truly captivating acting. Efira follows up her darker performance in Benedetta and an incredibly touching one in Revoir Paris with an extremely multi-layered one in this film. Playing two different characters might not be easy because of the troubled personalities. However, this Belgian actress does it beautifully and flawlessly. The warmth, stylishness, darkness, and anxiety of her character come through just by looking at her. Efira’s emotional performance ensures the audience can empathize with Judith and recognize her pain and suffering.

Efira perfectly brings this intriguing character study to life, especially when facing Gutiérrez (Jungle Cruise) and Benguerel. Speaking of the supporting actors, they are all in great shape. Salomone (Brillantes) as the straightforward and loving Melvil, Gutiérrez as the headstrong Abdel with some secrets, and Benguerel as the lovely, innocent daughter.

This latest work by Barraud is a spellbinding, discomforting and thrilling psychological portrait led by a brilliant Efira. The final act brings everything together in a way you would never have imagined. If you’re up for a dark character study with many surprises, then Madeleine Collins is a movie you’ll love.

Madeleine Collins opens in selected US cinemas on the 18^th of August courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.