The Blue Room (2014) New York Film Festival 2014

Mathieu Amalric (photo courtesy of Liz Whittemore, Reel News Daily)

Mathieu Amalric's mini masterpiece is one of my favorite films at this year's New York Film Festival.

The film is based upon a novel by Georges Simenon has a man, played by Amalric, hauled into jail for murder. Its seems he had an eleven month affair with an old classmate and now both of their spouses are dead. The question is did he do it? Seen from the Amalric's perspective we bounce through time, the affair, home life and the present in police custody we are given clues to ponder as our hero ponders his future.

Shot in the classic 1:33 aspect ratio the film feels like a on old school film noir. I suspect that if we could make the film black and white, it would, nudity aside fit into the classic noir canon. Grafted on to the classic noir is a realistic sense of life the noirs never had. Additionally the film has a real intelligence that makes it seem more like a thoughtful drama then crime film.

All hail Mathieu Amalric as a writer director. I know he has directed a few films before, but this is the first one I've seen and it's floored me. I don't know what to say other than the man really is a triple threat. This is a beautifully constructed wonderfully made film that seems to be coming from left field director-wise. Who knew that one of the best directors working today was also one of the world's finest actors?

I'm going to say something that is spoiler here  so if you don't want to know skip the next paragraph-

One of the things that I really love about the film is that we really don't know if Amalric did it. yes all of the indicators are there, but he never admits it and we never see him do it, all we know is that this thing happened and he may, or may not have done it. And with the he  said, she said nature of the film anything is possible, (It also makes it a killer companion piece for GONE GIRL.)

Not to put too fine a point on it THE BLUE ROOM is one of my delights of the year.

AND best of all while the New York Film festival screenings are done the film hits theaters tomorrow (its playing the IFC Center in NYC and it's hitting VOD as well. Take the time and see the film, hell it's only 76 minutes.

(A HUGE thank you to Liz Whittemore for the photo at the top. Read and hear her at Reel World Daily)