Marion (2024)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

An écarteur, Marion (Caroline Noguès-Larbère) aims to prove her harshest critics wrong. Though, as she anticipates the biggest night of her professional career–her nerves might steer her wrong. 

Marion is provided very few speaking lines, very few opportunities to develop through dialogue. I honestly feel that much of her development comes from other sources. Whether that’s the score, the cinematography, or other characters–Marion never takes a backseat in her own film, but she relies heavily on just about everything else in order to thrive. There’s something to this, however–as the entirety of Marion is a commentary on how a woman doesn’t deserve a place in the arena with a series of men. Forcing the character to rely on other characters and aspects of Marion plays to this point–about how she is reliant on everyone else for validation and success. 

Marion often remains tight, focusing heavily on the film’s titular character and her body language. Noguès-Larbère is a wonderful actor, who uses her body and her facial expressions to develop intensity throughout. She is a brilliant representation of Marion’s simplicity as a whole. Simple interactions, an accessible narrative, and familiar characters are the key components of this short film–and the simplicity, but honesty that Noguès-Larbère brings to the table parallels these aforementioned aspects almost perfectly. 

The film’s conclusion detracts from its own message–from the growth of Marion throughout. As she stumbles and falls in her biggest moment, viewers are sure to question whether or not everyone else was right about her. Sure, she gets back up, she powers through the adversity–but it doesn’t come without serious, life-threatening hitches along the way. 

Marion is quick and succinct, and I think by being these things it will attract and entertain a lot of viewers. The fact that her dialogue is scarce allows the film to develop suspense, and it’s certainly effective in this regard. However, as we inch closer to Marion’s conclusion, the final moments are a hindrance. Maybe these final moments are meant to reflect the reality that success and perfection aren’t synonymous, but I feel that for a film of this nature, one that is challenging the parameters of femininity and the female role within an all-male arena, Writer-Directors Joe Weiland and Finn Constantine should have applied some “Hollywood magic” (as it has come to be known), and allowed Marion to inch closer to perfection rather than leaving her grounded and flawed in a way that steals from her progress. 

Written & Directed by Joe Weiland & Finn Constantine. 

Starring Caroline Noguès-Larbère, Radouan Leflahi, Laurent Fernandez, Manuel Severi, Chloé Bugard, etc. 

6/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE