Madame is an oddity in some ways: a brisk, cynical-yet-sentimental farce set among super-rich American expatriates in Paris; the first English-language film from French director, dramatist and novelist Amanda Sthers (born Amanda Queffélec-Maruani). It’s weirdly dated, and the Pygmalion plot device and metropolitan sexiness make it look like a movie that could have come out in the mid-60s.
As it stands, Madame is probably destined to be viewed on late-night TV or long-haul flights. Yet it has a very good cast. Harvey Keitel is wealthy Bob, now on his sleek second wife, Anne, a former golf instructor who is icily insistent on her newfound social prestige (stylishly played by Toni Collette). Bob is in financial trouble and needs to unload a Caravaggio in his possession. To facilitate this, Anne hosts an A-list dinner party including influential people in politics and the art market.
But – oh, calamity! – she realises that they are to be 13 at dinner and now superstitiously needs someone else. So their long-suffering maid Maria (Rossy de Palma) is forced to step in as a 14th, posing as a mysterious Spanish friend. The rumour gets around that she is a member of the royal family, and with a few glasses of wine inside her, Maria’s charm and good nature entrance the art dealer (played by Michael Smiley) sitting next to her. He is at least partly turned on by the idea of her supposed wealth.
It’s all a bit negligible and the satire is fundamentally conservative, yet Rossy De Palma does carry off her role with flair.
