“Mr. Blake, at your service”, by Gilles Legardinier, does not lack implausible situations, but it has a pleasant time. She is played by John Malkovich and Fanny Ardant.
Quite popular writer in his country, with more than 40 works, including youth, police and romantic novels, Gilles Legardinier He also had the pleasure of directing a film. He is not a total upstart, because before becoming a writer he had worked as a cable puller on several film shoots, worked in advertising films and managed the press of some studios.
For this opportunity he played it safe: he adapted one of his first novels with help and called on a good technical team, the beauty of the chateau de Madame de Sevigné (its predecessor, let’s say), interiors of another chateau, help from highly experienced people in the trade, like the producer Granier-Deferre son, a co-writer, in this case Christel Henonwho reserved the role of the unfriendly friend, and in particular a small but brilliant cast: the American John Malkovich speaking slowly in French with a British accent, as requested by his character, Fanny Ardant like the owner of a bankrupt mansion, Emilie Duquennehousekeeper and cook with more scenes than Madame Ardant, Phillipe Basa landlord in love with the cook, and a cat, not much more.
The novel made into a film is “Completemént cramé!”completely fried, which was published in Spanish as “Dog days”. It’s hard to explain the relationship between fried foods and dogs, one only appears briefly, but it would be harder to explain the logic that turns a businessman into a butler, all for spending a few days in the place where he met the woman who, over time, and by far time, was his beloved wife. She died, and now he talks to her portrait. In another room, the landlady talks to a mannequin as if it were her late husband. That’s how we walk.
This happens at the beginning. If one accepts the absurdity and other things bordering on the ridiculous, and also accepts the kind invitation to spend some time in a nice country place with friendly characters, knowing that all problems will have to be solved with the polite advice of the businessman turned humble servant (the pregnant and abandoned maid, the bankruptcy, etc.), if one accepts those innocent conventions and has an easy smile, one can have a pleasant time. And learn, along the way, a few expressions and sayings from French and English, which landlord and butler explain to each other while playing chess in the chateau park.
In short, a small, well-dressed, somewhat silly but kind filmwhich will not go down in history but neither does it harm nor leaves a bad memory, which in these times is appreciated.
“Mr. Blake at your service” (Completemént cramé!. France-Luxembourg., 2023); Dir.: Gilles Legardinier; Int.: John Malkovich, Fanny Ardant, Emilie Dequenne, Philippe Bas.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
