Young Critics Lab

20 décembre 2024

PEACOCK - Review by Jovana Dinić

"Peacock" is the debut film by the Austrian director Bernhard Wenger, showcased at this year’s 16th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival. The film has previously been pitched at Talent Village of the same festival in 2018, and is now competing for the Crystal Arrow. 

This satirical comedy follows Matthias (Albrecht Schuch), a successful employee at a rent-a-friend agency that allows clients to hire someone to pose as a friend, fictional son, boyfriend, or other roles for any occasion. When his wife leves him, his life becomes a hectic mess, and a search for a meaning.

Matthias has a peculiar job. We see him at a botanical garden concert among classical music enthusiasts, pretending to be a cool father and pilot to impress his “son’s” classmates, but we also find him putting eye drops in his eyes to fake tears when his wife (Julia Franz Richter) is leaving him. Ironically, this blurring of professional and personal boundaries is the very reason for their separation—she tells him she no longer knows who the real Matthias is. And really, who are we when we aren’t presenting ourselves to others – that is the main question the film poses. The film explores the exaggeration of performing social roles in our lives.

Once left on his own, Matthias attracts nothing but trouble. Out of nowhere, he is stalked by the ex-husband of a client, who accuses him of ruining his marriage through “professional training sessions” with his wife. The job he once loved becomes an unbearable burden. Once the agency’s top employee, Matthias now even receives a negative review. Reuniting with his wife seems less and less likely, and he fails to find either a new partner or inner peace—even in a fancy yoga retreat. This leads Matthias to question everything, including whether he should leave his job.

A lot of patience is devoted to the sensory aspects of the film. The bright and colorful scenery contrasts with the dark humor of this black comedy. Mathias’s apartment, designed to be presentable, follows the latest trends in interior design. The cinematography complements this aesthetic with visually compelling, colorful, symmetrical, a bit rigid frames, reflecting the artificial, overly polished life of the protagonist. Sound design plays a crucial role in the film – as Mathias experiences a nervous breakdown, his world feels increasingly disordered. He starts hearing bird noises at night, and strange, sounds emanate from the house. And what is a peacock doing on top of his car?

As the film progresses, Matthias’s search for his true self runs parallel to the audience’s evolving understanding of his character. What initially seems like a faceless man skilled only in pretending becomes a much more complex character searching for meaning, thanks largely to Schuch’s strong performance. The humor, though dark, makes this sharp social critique – infused with hints of anthropological pessimism and absurdism – easy digestible and appealing, even without a captivating protagonist. The film relies heavily on visual humor: wide static shots, focus on body language and mis en scene enhance the already comedic situations unfolding. A single glance at the living room, confused faces, and a dog taking up more space than the furniture is enough to entertain the audience.

The film culminates in its final scene, where Matthias is hired to play the role of a distinguished son helping his “father” secure a board director position. Forced to change into a new suit, Matthias re-enters a grand hall filled with formally dressed guests—completely naked and covered in mud, with the obvious intent to ruin everything. After an initial moment of shock, the crowd bursts into applause, mistaking his act for a genious performance.

Wenger strikes a perfect balance between dark humor, vibrant set design, and spontaneous and simple dialogue, all while weaving in fundamental societal questions. Who are we when we are alone, when we try to be true to ourselves? Is today’s society full of peacocks, skilled only in showing off their feathers? And amid all this, do we persistently and pretentiously seek meaning, projecting it even where it does not exist? Perhaps we are all just living in absurdity.

Jovana Dinić