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Rating: What is the boundary between art and life? Is there a limit not to be crossed when transitioning from one to the other? The plot of Madeline's Madeline extensively explores this theme. The protagonist is Madeline, a young actress of extraordinary talent (as is her performer, Helena Howard) who is part of the theater company of Evangeline, a director organizing a show based on experimental improvisational acting techniques with mental illness as its theme. The film opens with a close-up, a blurred POV, in which a nurse with doubled outlines, preparing a syringe, addresses us saying: "It's a metaphor." The point of view in question is obviously Madeline's, who truly suffers from an unspecified psychiatric disorder and takes medication, which she secretly tries not to take, hiding it from her mother, Regina, a visibly nervous woman in constant worry, concerned for her daughter and sometimes unwittingly cruel towards her. Madeline hates her and deeply admires Evangeline, with whom she confides. The director, having understood the emotional depth of the girl, added to her expressive strength, decides to integrate her personal experiences into the show, progressively transforming it into a new one focused on Madeline - a metaphor, as she often says.
The characters of the three leading women are all portrayed with a wealth of detail: none of them appear flat or superficial, their psychologies are complex, and their behaviors are difficult to categorize as 'right' or 'wrong.' The issue of artistic identity, central to the story, develops in both Madeline and Evangeline, showing what they both do to achieve it and how this integrates into their personality. After being invited to Evangeline's home and embarrassing the husband with provocative behavior, Madeline confronts her director, and both admit to being insecure. In this exchange, perhaps the most honest and sincere, their feelings find a voice. Madeline expresses them also on stage, at home, on the street; every place for her is a theater to perform, to scream and vent, but it's as if she never manages to say what she would like to say, remaining dissatisfied, even though aware of her talent.
The very intense final sequence represents a crucial step in that journey, a form of artistic and personal expression primarily for Madeline, but also for Evangeline, who will find her architecture turned upside down.
Madeline's Madeline heavily relies on acting techniques borrowed from theater: Evangeline's ensemble consists of a real theater company, with whom choreographies were studied and improvisation techniques were explored. Moreover, photography plays a fundamental role, absolutely experimental, using fragmented, often inverted shots, in the style of the initial POV, using blurred, out-of-focus figures that reflect Madeline's point of view, her 'crises.' The sound also assists the images, often resulting in booming and echoing, expanding the perceptual dilation set in motion by the images at an auditory level. The final result is a very interesting, extremely well-made film, enjoyable both for a lover of experimental cinema and someone who appreciates or is used to less niche films, representing a good compromise between the two (if the photography doesn't disturb you too much).
It's available on Amazon Prime but also by searching on the internet 😊
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