Misericordia: Review. By Robert Ewing.

French cinema will always hold a special place in my heart. In high school, my French teacher would show us various kinds of films like Goodbye, Children, Les Choristes and Three Men and a Cradle. Already having a love of foreign cinema after watching a very low-quality upload of Battle Royale on YouTube, high school expanded my love for the genre and my French teacher did play a part in it. When heading into Misericordia,I was excited as a French and in extension European cinema is very distinct and calling Misericordiadistinct would be an understatement.

We open on Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) as he is travelling back to his hometown of Saint-Martial. His former boss, whom he had an affection for, has passed away and has come back to attend the funeral. While back he decides to stay a few days with widow Martine (Catherine Frot), which angers son Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand) who believes he is only there to get with his mother. However, what should have been a normal time away from home turns sinister as Jérémie is caught up in a disappearance, a threatening neighbour and a priest (Jacques Develay) with suspicious intentions.

What starts as a normal story of an unwanted visitor with potential sinister intentions slowly morphs into a very bisexual story of connection. We see, throughout the film, Jérémie trying to get with everyone in the cast, apart from Vincent. Everyone wants the desire to be loved, but you cannot force that emotion and throughout Jérémie has an unnatural connection with people he is somewhat attracted to. It leads to a narrative that audiences may gravitate to, however, I found it to be ultimately strange.

Even then, the mystery around the disappearance is lacking a key element for the plot to truly work, which is an actual mystery. The film is told entirely from the perspective of Jérémie, so we know what happened and the suspense is meant to come from the never-ending lies told that only sink him into a deeper and deeper hole. Ultimately, though, this just never works, taking itself too seriously to be darkly funny, it just leads to a narrative beat that is boring to watch. When the priest slowly reveals his true intentions, it’s when the film becomes something truly special and enjoyable to watch.

Rising above the mediocre story is the acting. The entire cast is great and elevate the material to an extent that is at worst watchable, to its best is engaging. Félix Kysyl is fantastic as Jérémie, delivering a unique performance of a confused man lost in a wide and open world who can let his evil intentions take over. Catherine Frot as Martine is also great, as a kind and supporting widow, who knows about Jérémie’s affection for her husband but never shuns his thoughts, instead coming from a perspective and understanding and love.

Misericordia could have been something unique and engaging to watch, instead it’s just a mediocre and true missed opportunity to tell an interesting story. Some moments are captivating, and the acting is truly stellar, but it doesn’t do enough to make the film a worthwhile experience.

2.5 Stars

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