Deerskin

In a role that was made for Jean Dujardin, he acts like he has been doing this for a long time. By 'this' I mean executing an eccentric project that is about to take over his life and muddle his relationship with the world. And by 'the world' I mean the sorry village that his Georges character travels to after buying a vintage jacket made of 100% deerskin which also marks his obsession with it, something that both induces laughter in its audience and also highlights the crazy, primal nature of obsessive compulsion characterized by depression, loneliness, and unconditional enmity against the humankind. I have no words to describe the virulent turn Le daim (Deerskin) takes as Georges laughingly has his way by conspiring with himself to take forward his obsession with his deerskin jacket, which I should add is 'killer style' in his own words. Whether it is the inflated price that he pays for the second-hand jacket or the newfound skill of videography or mistaking a film editor with a creditor, Le daim has been written in a way that is guaranteed to make you laugh every five minutes. The outlandish plot, accentuated by terrific performances by Dujardin and Adele Haenel (who acts with her face and that's enough) and also by the peculiar style of referral writing (where the aftermath of an event in a scene is shown in the following one or the one after that) by director-writer Quentin Dupieux makes this comedy crime drama a blast experience. I can't recommend it more and I am definitely going to be watching more of Dupieux's work. Bravo! TN. (Watched and reviewed at its India premiere at the 21st MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.)

This is a somewhat mysterious film - not really what I'd call a horror film, although it is unsettling at times and there are the ocassional moment that may make you want to look away from the screen but its by no means a constant jumpscare type film throughout. Its got quite a plodding feel to it for the most part, indeed the music played in the background is what you might hear on an old fashioned PI type show. It has a claustrophobic feel to it as well. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it - its bizarre but not unwatchable, with an intriguing main character. I'd recommend this if it sounds of interest, for the 'curiosity factor' alone although perhaps not to the extremely squeamish and I suppose the plot isn't 100% original but otherwise its an intriguing enough watch, yes.