Seattle International Film Festival: Balconettes

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While perhaps best known for her understated yet powerful performances in Portrait of a Lady on Fire and TÀR, Noémie Merlant showcases her equally striking talent for the WTF (weird, titillating, and fascinating) both in front of and behind the camera with her sizzling sophomore feature as director. In the thick of a near-apocalyptic heat wave in Marseille, we are introduced to our trio of cohabitating bosom buddies: neurotic, sexually frustrated writer Nicole (Sanda Codrenau), free-spirited camgirl Ruby (Souhelia Yacoub) – actress of Tunisian descent, and Élise (Merlant), an actress rapidly reaching her boiling point. A chance encounter with the brooding artist on the balcony across the way rapidly spirals into a bloody affair that threatens to haunt the girls forever—possibly literally. What begins as a sexy, sun-drenched romp reveals itself to be a blood-drenched, searing takedown of rape culture, and an equally tough and tender look at the necessity of female friendship. With this bombastic, hilarious, and heart-rending film, Merlant cements herself as not only a face, but a singular voice in contemporary cinema across the globe.