Slack Bay (2016) (French Language)

Review

122min

Genre:       Comedy

Director:    Bruno Dumont

Cast:         Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche, Brandon Lavieville…more

Writer:      Bruno Dumont

-Synopsis-

In early 20th century coastal Northern France, a duo of self-styled detectives gather to investigate a spate of mysterious disappearances, which may unravel a conspiracy involving the resident eccentric aristocratic family and the ordinary local boatsmen in director Bruno Dumont’s madcap ensemble French comedy.

We here at FilmPhonic have always had a penchant for the weird and wonderful when it comes to film, and European cinema has often proved to be a treasure-trove for the whacky and inexplicable over the years. Now writer/director Dumont can add his latest effort to that list, as he simultaneously pays tribute to ‘Golden Era Hollywood’ comedies while crafting a modern surrealist concoction, a comedy of curious characters inspired by his home region of northern France and his own bizarre French TV series ‘Li’l Quinquin’ about it—as this sublimely ludicrous French period farce finally hits UK cinemas.

‘Slack Bay’ features a large eclectic cast of French talents led by Fabrice Luchini and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as the head of the kooky upper-class ‘Van Peteghem’ family, along with excitable visiting aunt ‘Aude’ (Juliette Binoche), whose child ‘Billie’ (Raph) begins a relationship with local working-class lad ‘Ma Loute’ (Brandon Lavieville)—himself a member of an odd local family the ‘Bruforts’, fishermen and boatsmen with bizarre proclivities. When the large & little detective team of ‘Machin’ (Didier Després) & ‘Malfoy’ (Cyril Rigaux) shows up to investigate a series of unexplained disappearances and suspecting foul-play, the two families’ quirks are sucked into a vortex of peculiarity which sweeps the town in this outlandish character comedy.

Dumont’s latest effort is so offbeat and has so much going on, it’s difficult to know where to begin with this film. ‘Slack Bay’ is simultaneously an homage to old-school madcap farces and classic Hollywood comedies—referencing Buster Keaton, Lauren & Hardy and many more—and a modern wacky comedy with a surrealist core, all wrapped in stylish period piece dressing. It also colourfully deals with some rather eyebrow-raising topics, including incest, gender fluidity, upper-class inbreeding, some light-hearted cannibalism and the class system conundrum . . . you know, all the usual light comedy stuff.

Good old-fashioned sight gags and physical comedy are the name of the game here, both visual and audial, often light but sometimes dark, even a little grotesque and macabre at times. This is also very much an absurdist character piece, with some of the actors gloriously hamming it up (particularly Luchini and Binoche) while others play it straight, all resulting in some hilariously bizarre behaviour and unforgettable figures—needless to say any hint of a traditional plot becomes an afterthought and the story itself is rather incidental compared with the characters who tell it.

Despite being a ludicrous comedy, ‘Slack Bay’ is crafted like a premium European period drama, featuring top-notch production designs and meticulously designed costumes, all captured along with eclectic architecture and some beautiful vistas of northern coastal France by cinematographer Guillaume Deffontaines—all of which combines seamlessly with a quirky soundtrack to give the film an even greater idiosyncratic quality and make it wholly unique.

If your sense of humour is 21st century extreme and your funny bone is only ever tickled by puerile irreverent modern comedies, ‘Slack Bay’ will not be up your comedic alley.

This French farce is peculiar to the core and isn’t interested in acknowledging its own weirdness or explaining it in any way, plus its lack of a coherent plot will be an issue for some audiences, who will scratch their heads at a conclusion which won’t answer the many questions you might be left with. But if you’re open to something truly original and off-the-wall, which both brings a sense of nostalgia and something completely original and singular to the table, ‘Slack Bay’ will have you scratching you head and busting your guts with glorious movie madness you won’t soon forget.

The Bottom Line . . .

A blend of classic madcap farce and modern surrealist comedy, Bruno Dumont’s bizarre concoction puts traditional story on the back-burner while bringing weird, off-putting but somehow endearing characters to the forefront. ‘Slack Bay’ may prove to be an acquired taste, but as an alternative to the slew of mind-numbing irreverent Hollywood comedies lately, we’re happy to indulge our taste for this cinematic oddity.

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Men & Chicken (2015) (Danish Language)

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