While her mother's (Florence Bonanno) out of the country, Maude (Juline Thibaut) has invited her boyfriend, law student Jérémy  (Thomas Lesserteur), to stay with her for what she figures a few romantic days - but she doesn*t quite get what she has bargained for, as first Jérémy spends more time studying for his exam than with her, then Maude*s psycho-ex Félix (Guerric Nivelon) shows up on her doorstep, apparently unaware that she has broken up with him two years ago. And she, afraid of a violent outburst of his, decides to play his game and urges Jérémy to do the same - which he begrudgedly does. But of course, Félix might be a psycho, but he's not at all stupid and soon sees through Maude and Jérémy's charade. and ... well, it ends with one of the three murdered, the other two making a getaway and running into a cab driver (Niko) who seems to be sympathetic to their cause and even offers his assistance - but only makes things far worse by trying to help ...

Now the first act of Nénuphar comes across as pretty straightforward genre entertainment with clearly defined characters - only for the film starting to defy genre conventions at a certain point, taking its protagonists on a rather bizarre journey to God-knows-where. And the whole thing works, too, thanks to a script that might be outrageous, but is also thought through, thanks to a suitably subtle direction to keep things grounded, thanks to well fleshed out, quirky characters, and a very competent and relatable cast. And the result is a somewhat absurd yet totally enjoyable piece of thriller cinema.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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