Mon Roi(My King)

French Film Festival 2016

Greenbelt 3 Cinemas

I'd admit, this melodrama that focused on the destruction of a marriage was difficult to watch. It felt like you are on a freaky roller coaster ride that will leave you breathless yet at the same time also quite exhilarated from the fervor!

Toni and Giorgio were united by their strong attraction to each other. Toni, a successful lawyer is fiercely independent while Giorgio a renowned restaurateur is well basically a jerk for want of a correct word to describe his colorful personality. 

After a lovemaking session, Toni asks him if he was a 'good person' and he replies "Nah on the contrary, I am the king of the jerks" thus the film is titled "Mon Roi" or My King referring to her term of endearment for him.

Both of them are strong willed individuals who have contrasting demeanor yet somehow their marriage for the most part thrive amidst several conflicts and imperfections. Because no marriage is perfect, right?

We witness the ups and downs of their union as Toni is recovering in a rehab/therapy facility as she fractured her knee in a skiing accident. Well we can say that perhaps it wasn't really an accident as it appears Toni deliberately injured herself so she could have some days off from their very toxic relationship.

Seamless flashbacks of their first meeting, to their wedding and the birth of their son weave in and out of scenes from her rehab sessions. She sticks out as a sore thumb as the other patients are mostly younger and from different ethnic backgrounds. But she quickly makes friends even as she reflects on the sad state of her marriage to Giorgio. 

Vincent Cassel as Giorgio is a delight to watch even as he is mostly a jerk in this role. For me, he has always been such an steady actor who really immerses himself in any role and as Giorgio his intensity still shines through even though he has visibly aged, physically.

I am not familiar with the actress who plays Toni but based on what I've read, she is an accomplished scriptwriter cum actress. Her characterization of the beleaguered Toni was spot on complete with expressive facial connotations and meaningful body language which added so much depth to her role.

As I've mentioned earlier, it is an highly emotional film so it might not please certain viewers but I'd recommend it as a valuable lesson on how not to ruin your marriage.