Nicolas Maury made his directorial debut with his comedy-drama, My Best Part, which was a part of 2020’s Cannes roster and went on to be a part of the Industry Selects program at Toronto Fest. Garçon Chiffon, or My Best Part, helms a mercurial protagonist who undergoes an intense mid-life crisis which propels him on a journey both absurd and eye-opening. Equal parts hilarious and heartwarming, My Best Part is a sweet exploration of the absurdities of life and a celebration of what's worth living for.
Jealousy, or “the green-eyed monster” can be potentially disastrous for our closest relationships, as unhealthy possessiveness can lead to a chink in the strongest of bonds. This is exactly what ails Jérémie (Maury), who is what the world would label as overly-sensitive. He is a struggling actor with a fraught relationship with partner Albert (Arnaud Valois), who may or may not be cheating on him. The film opens with an absurd and hilarious scene in which Jérémie is at a support meeting for those who are prone to jealousy, where long-standing members claim to have survived X number of days free from the influence of the green-eyed monster. While Jérémie does have a jealousy problem that might be contributing to his relationship issues with Albert, the latter does seem to be hiding something from his partner, to be fair to the heartbroken, soft-spoken protagonist.
Even though Jérémie is well into his late thirties, he carries an air of a wide-eyed ingénue, waiting to be discovered by the world-at-large. Struggling to make rent or sustain promising acting jobs, Jérémie leaves Paris to stay with his mother, Bernadette (Nathalie Baye), in Limousin, a region in south-central France. Limousin acts as a sort of safe haven for Jérémie, who spends his time rehearsing lines for the upcoming audition for Spring Awakening, immersing himself in the role of the suicidal teenage protagonist. Although Jérémie acts child-like throughout, it is after he genuinely embraces his inner child that he is able to embark on a journey of self-rediscovery, aided by his mother’s gift of an absolutely adorable puppy, Gugun, who Jérémie grows to love and learns to love himself in the process.
Absurdity marks the narrative of My Best Part in the most surprising ways. It is hilarious and baffling to see Jérémie being jealous of Kévin (Théo Christine), who he believes will replace him as Bernadette’s son due to the young man’s “practicality” (which he believes he lacks). There is also a scene in which he plummets into a shallow river only to be saved by a group of doting nuns, who give him herbal extracts to help him “cure” his ailing condition. Of course, every scene with Bernadette is a delight, as she is equally as baffling and enigmatic as the protagonist. One moment, Bernadette will ask her son to marvel at the beauty of the world by holding up a humble potato; in the next, she belts out a tipsy monologue about the nature of love and loss, and how Jérémie has always been a creature inhabiting his own world (she’s not wrong).
Maury is the star of My Best Part, as he imbues Jérémie with qualities that are both frustrating and endearing at the same time, managing to pull off the mounting absurdities of the film. Baye is electrifying as Bernadette and she enlivens every scene she's in, and the comedy-drama as a whole, almost immediately. Meanwhile, every peripheral performance is special in its own way. Laure Calamy’s Sylvie deserves a special mention here, as her scenes are a hoot to watch. Perhaps audiences will find My Best Part a tad overlong, as the film could have benefited further from a few edits. The ending, while ambiguous, is tolerably sweet, bringing an end to a whimsical comedy-drama that touches the heart. My Best Part shines best when Jérémie drops all affectation, embracing his core self, no matter how flawed and fractured that is (as it is beautiful, too).
My Best Part was released in theaters on February 25, 2022, and is also available in VOD. The film is 112 minutes long and remains unrated as of now.