MR BLAKE AT YOUR SERVICE Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Gilles Legardinier
Stars: John Malkovich, Fanny Ardant, Emilie Dequenne, Philippe Bas, Eugenie Anselin.
Andrew Blake (played by John Malkovich) is a successful businessman who is grieving the death of his beloved wife Diane four months earlier. He first met her at a mansion in France forty years earlier and it was love at first sight. The couple were married and had a daughter named Sarah, who now lives abroad in Australia. Andrew and Diane had promised each other that they would again visit the estate where they originally met. Now that Diane has passed away he decides to make a belated pilgrimage to the mansion. He packs his bags and makes his way to France.
He discovers that the mansion is owned by the financially struggling Madame Nathalie de Beauvilier (Cesar award winner Fanny Ardant, from Le Belle Epoque, etc). Since her philandering husband died four year earlier Nathalie has been struggling to pay the bills and overheads of maintaining the mansion. She is considering turning her home into a guest house and has begun advertising it on the internet.
Andrew arrives at the Domaine de Beauvilier thinking it to be a hotel but due to a misunderstanding he is hired on a temporary basis as a butler under the watchful eye of the housekeeper Odile (Emilie Dequenne, from Rosetta, etc). He slowly begins to bond with the stressed Nathalie and finds a new lease on life in the picturesque surroundings of the mansion. He also befriends Manon (Eugenie Anselin), a pregnant maid who fears that her boyfriend has abandoned her. He also makes the acquaintance of Magnier (Philippe Bas, from Maigret, etc), the estate’s eccentric and socially awkward handyman whom he meets at the wrong end of a shotgun one night. But he and Magnier soon form a strong friendship as well.
Mr Blake At Your Service (also known as Well Done! and Completement Crame!) is a modest, feelgood and lightweight romantic comedy that deals with themes of regret, grief, loss and second chances. The film is adapted from the bestselling 2012 novel written by Gilles Legardinier. The novel has sold over a million copies worldwide and has been translated into 17 languages. Legardinier himself has adapted it for the screen, along with co-writer Christel Henon, and he also makes his directorial debut here. The result is charming if a little manipulative comedy of manners. Legardinier’s direction is slow and measured, but, despite the nature of the material, avoids schmaltz.
However, the film is let down by some pacing issues and an uneven tone with some moments that fall flat. There is also a middle act that involves a robbery that seems out of character and doesn’t really make a lot of sense.
Legardinier has assembled a strong cast to bring the idiosyncratic characters to life. Malkovich speaks French quite well throughout the film, brings a gruff charm to his character and he taps into a nice line of humour and demonstrates perfect comic timing as the typically uptight Englishman transplanted out of his comfort zone. Ardant brings a sense of elegance to her role. This is the third film released this month to feature a scene stealing cat here – Mephisto (as played by Nouchka, a Persian) has a winning personality.
Herald Najar’s production design is superb, and the film has been nicely shot in warm hues by cinematographer Stephane Le Parc.
Although not to everybody’s tastes, Mr Blake At Your Service will find a ready-made audience amongst those who like French farces.
★★☆
