For a Troubled Man, His Life Becomes All About His Style

Jean Dujardin and Adèle Haenel in "Deerskin"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

*Although I've been catching up on some classic movies over the last few weeks ever since the movie theaters temporarily closed, I'm going to take a break from them every so often to dive into the indie films that have been made available in the Jacob Burns Film Center's virtual screening room.

I ventured into writer-director Quentin Dupieux’s horror comedy, “Deerskin,” with just a minimal amount of insight into what it was about.  I wasn’t even too aware of what the genre would be.  What a memorable viewing experience it was when the movie shifted gears into a whole different beast than what I was expecting.  It’s a movie that revels in its weirdness and boldness, and it demands your attention.

Georges (Jean Dujardin) leaves his old life and starts a new one.  He begins by purchasing a deerskin jacket, with which he soon becomes obsessed, and then decides to stay in a hotel in the countryside.  After meeting a bartender, Denise (Adèle Haenel), he lies to her and says that he’s a filmmaker.  His newfound artistic outlet and infatuation with his jacket will soon intertwine into something much more sinister.

Before this movie, I had only seen Dujardin in “The Artist” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”  He has mostly acted in French cinema throughout his two-decade career, but his work in this movie further proves that he deserves a wider recognition amongst filmgoers from all over, delivering a performance that’s as chilling as it is comical.  He’s a character that makes you cringe a bit because of how uncomfortable he can make certain interactions, but also have you shiver as Georges begins tapping into his darker impulses as his puzzling obsession with his jacket begins to take a stronger hold on him.

Dupieux’s screenplay sets up a mysterious premise that has just enough weirdness going on without throwing everything to you at once, but then draws you in further as the ominousness increases.  When it gets to the point where the story makes its menacing intentions known, you’ll find yourself jerk forward in surprise and then recoil in shock as you begin your descent into the film’s more alarming territory.  In the middle of this narrative is an unsettling character study that always has you asking questions about Georges, and the things that he does and why he does them has you pondering the meaning of the movie.  A character as troubled as Georges isn’t one who should be figured out so easily, and the narrative doesn’t offer any easy answers.

Dupieux creates such an intriguing character, that as good as the movie is, it’s a shame that it’s only 77 minutes because you end up wishing that you could spend more time Georges to see what else is going through his mind.  Yes, the mystery behind him is what makes the story so interesting, and I’m not suggesting that Dupieux try to disclose what his character is all about, but to have the movie a little longer so a few more layers could be added to the mystery of who Georges is would have worked to terrific effect with such a unique character.

As a director, Dupieux handles the tonal shifts between offbeat comedy and offbeat horror without flaw, eventually mixing the two and creating a story that will have you going between chuckling and gasping as you witness the audaciousness of Dupieux’s startling vision.  Despite the short runtime, this is a movie that still offers enough in terms of giving you something that feels different, and Dupieux succeeds in absorbing you in the off-kilter nature of the film, making “Deerskin” a movie that will get under yours.

Grade: A-