Directed by: Patricia Mazuy
Distributed by: Darkstar Pictures
Written by Michael Clawson
60/100
As a grim study of toxic masculinity and misogynistic rage, “Saturn Bowling” is more than a little unsettling. Its brutal displays of sexual violence deliver a genuine shock, and Patricia Muzuy’s clinical direction instills the proceedings with a steady stream of cold air. But what this no-frills French noir lacks is sufficient insight into its own characters. For all of the barbarism that the movie forces us to bear witness to, its understanding of vile male behavior comes off as rather shallow and simplistic.
When their father passes away, Guillaume (Arieh Worhalter) is asked by his estranged half-brother Armand (Achille Reggiani) to run the bowling alley they’ve inherited. Guillaume is a troubled loner, but Muzuy takes her time before exposing the depths of his depravity. As he moves into his father’s now-vacant apartment (a dim mausoleum plastered with hunting trophies) and begins managing the bowling alley, Guillaume gazes at women with looks that suggest desperate longing. When he brings a female customer home one night, an instance of playfully rough sex between two strangers quickly morphs into a scene of nauseating viciousness by Guillaume towards the woman. The incident invites comparison to the most infamous moment from Gaspar Noé’s “Irreversible,” and is the first in a series of murders that Guillaume commits against innocent women.
After Guillaume’s first attack, Muzuy switches her focus to Armand, a police officer ascending through the ranks of his department when he’s tasked with investigating the murders. Beyond their positions as cop and criminal offender, Muzuy sets up an additional contrast between the two brothers as Armand begins a relatively healthy romantic relationship. His love interest is an environmental activist with her own connection to the bowling alley: there’s tension between her and the macho hunting club that Armand and Guillaume’s father had long hosted at the alley for gatherings. Through this motif of hunting, Muzuy toys with “predator” and “prey” metaphors that aren’t particularly intriguing. Even less effective is the way she points to Guillaume’s relationship with his late father as the key to understanding Guillaume’s insecurity and extreme fear of rejection. The lack of nuance is a shame, but Muzuy’s restrained mise en scène is generally compelling enough on its own.
“Saturn Bowling” Trailer
Michael Clawson is a member of the Seattle Film Critic Society you can follow his passion for film on Letterboxd.