Cannes review: The Blue Room

The film is well directed, with good performances by Cleau and especially Almaric, considering he takes on both roles of main actor and director.

Stéphanie Cléau, left, and Mathieu Amalric in a scene from The Blue Room. Courtesy Alfama Films

The Blue Room

Director: Mathieu Amalric

Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Stéphanie Cléau

The Blue Room, the French actor and director Mathieu Amalric's fourth feature film, is a mystery noir in Cannes' Un Certain Regard line-up. The film starts with close shots of the protagonists Julien and Esther (Amalric and Stéphanie Cléau) together, then cuts to an intense interrogation sequence featuring Julien, where the details of the story slowly unravel. We discover that Esther's husband has been murdered and the police believe Julien is involved. Further questioning reveals that Julien's wife has also been poisoned. At the same time, while the police are certain of his involvement and have him arrested, the extent of Julien's role in the murder is never really revealed. The film is well directed, with strong performances by Cléau and Almaric, especially considering that he takes on the roles of both main actor and director. However, the pace is crippled by the monotonous interrogation dialogue, even though it is integral to the story. Although the mystery plays out well, the audience is left wondering at the wide-open ending.

* Khalid Al Mahmood

Khalid Al Mahmood is an independent filmmaker who has been working in the UAE since 2001