The Balconettes [Movie Review]

The Balconettes [Movie Review] | I came across the movie while browsing what to watch over the long holiday. 

The poster seems promising - so here goes. 

SYNOPSIS

The Balconettes (2024) Trivia

• In French: Les Femmes au balcon
• Starring: Souheila Yacoub, Sanda Codreanu, Noémie Merlant, Lucas Bravo, Nadège Beausson-Diagne & Christophe Montenez
• Director: Noémie Merlant
• Producer: Pierre Guyard
• Production Company: Nord-Ouest Films & France 2 Cinéma

• Distributed by: Tandem 

• Release date: December 11, 2024
• Running time: 105 minutes
• Rating: MA
• Country: France
• Language: French
• IMDb: 5.8/ 10
• Tomatometer: 76%
• Metascore: 67%
• Filmed in a record-breaking French heatwave, the cast weren’t just acting—those sweat-drenched scenes were all too real. 
• The suitcase scene was so disturbing that some crew members walked off set. 
• Most ghost scenes used mirrors, lighting, and body doubles—old-school tricks that made the hauntings feel raw and unnervingly real.

In the blistering heat of Marseille, three women peer from their balcony, weaving fantasies about the enigmatic man across the street. But when curiosity leads them inside his apartment, desire turns to dread—and their summer unravels into a fever dream of blood, ghosts, and liberation.

The movie starts with a woman in a toxic relationship tries to kill her husband, after what seems to be a domestic violence. She whacked his head and then sat on his face, trying her might to kill him, before she went down to meet her neighbour, Nicole, wanting to say something about what has just happened but her neighbour just laughed it off, assuming she was joking. 

Nicole, an aspiring writer, is obsessively working on a story about a timid woman’s secret affair with her neighbor. Ruby, a bold webcam model, thrives on attention but hides bruises of her own. And Elise still drifts between fantasy and reality, clinging to her role as Marilyn Monroe while enduring the manipulations of Paul, her lawyer-lover with sinister intentions.

From their balcony, the trio fixate on their sexy enigmatic neighbor across the street. He’s more than a passing distraction; he’s fuel for their fantasies and mostly the spark for Nicole’s writing.

One evening, the trio tries to offer compensation to him after Elise accidentally scratched his car, the neighbour finally extends an invitation. He offers them wine inhibitions loosen, and the apartment transforms into a heady mix of party and photo studio. As it gets lates, Elise and Nicole retreat to bed, leaving Ruby behind for an impromptu shoot. Hours later, Ruby stumbles home—bloodied, dazed, and unable to speak. 

In the morning, when they see Ruby covered in blood, Elise and Nicole try to comfort her, before she runs to the neighbour's apartment and the duo runs after her. The neighbor’s corpse, grotesquely mutilated, hangs like a macabre art piece. Shocked but determined, the women clean the crime scene and hide the remains in the freezer. 

As the horror festers, Elise is trapped once more by Paul, who rapes her in a hotel room. She later learns she’s pregnant, a revelation that shatters her illusions. Meanwhile, Nicole is tormented by visions, first it was only the neighbour, but soon she can also see the ghosts of rapists, including their slain neighbour, haunt her steps and words.

Ruby finally shares her truth about that tragic night. What started out as a photoshoot, turned into an attempted rape, which Ruby fought off  and resulted in her accidentally killed the neighbour. Together, the friends make a chilling pact: to erase the evidence, limb by limb. 

Will the truth destroy them or is this the chaos they needed to break free?

MY REVIEW

What I Like:  

• The movie combines drama, thriller, horror and comedy beautifully. 
• I would say great cast and great performance.
• A lot of 18SX scenes - don't watch this one with your kids.   

What I Don't Like:

• Dare I say - too graphic in some scenes? Not that those are bad, but some might think so. I don't mind them.  

Will I Watch It Again: I probably would. 

Overall: 4.4/ 5.0

The pictures are taken from multiple sources on the Internet. Thank you.

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