Synopsis
Eugenie has a unique gift: she hears and sees the dead. When her family discovers her secret, at the end of the 19th century, she is taken by her father and brother to the neurological clinic at La Pitié Salpêtrière with no possibility of escaping her fate. Her destiny becomes entwined with that of Geneviève, a nurse at the hospital.
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Cast
- Lou de LaâgeEugénie Cléry
- Mélanie LaurentGeneviève Gleizes
- Emmanuelle BercotJeanne
- Benjamin VoisinThéophile Cléry
- Cédric KahnFrançois Cléry
- Lomane de DietrichLouise
- Christophe MontenezJules
- Coralie RussierCamille
- Alice BarnoleHenriette
- Lauréna ThellierMarguerite
Recommendations
- 91
The Playlist
Laurent’s portrait of women pushed to the edge of society, exploited, and tortured for the sake of progress is uncompromising and fearless. - 80
Film Threat
The Mad Women’s Ball avoids caricature or stereotype, though the grounds it walks may seem somewhat familiar. Laurent treads them with skill and passion, immersing us into a period wildly different and dishearteningly similar to ours. - 80
The Guardian
Contrived and possibly overheated though the film might be at times, there is real storytelling gusto to it, and Laurent punches it across with relish. - 80
Screen Daily
The latest picture from Melanie Laurent is a strikingly beautiful production which delves deep into the ugliness at the roots of psychiatric medicine. - 75
The Film Stage
The Mad Women’s Ball represents a noteworthy achievement for Laurent—a tremendously compelling, emotionally shattering period piece bearing at least three mighty performances from de Laâge, de Dietrich, and herself. - 75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Laurent is determined in mapping the depiction of the patriarchal violence endured under both the supposition of scientific method as well as the social order of the world outside of the institution; however, the film struggles to keep a similar pace and substance within its story world. - 72
TheWrap
What some might find dramatically unsatisfying about the film’s climax directly comments on the inequities of the era and the limited options offered to women, and there’s no shortage of rich storytelling, acting, and visual potency leading up to it. - 70
The New York Times
Laurent has made an elegant if overheated melodrama that amplifies the villainy of Charcot and his colleagues (one proves particularly appalling) to underscore how male-centered the medical establishment was — and is.
