There is no denying that theFrench have mastered surrealist and bizarre expressionism in their movies. The 2019 macabre, comically twistedDeerskin(Le Daim) is exactly what you might expect from the country’s film medium. At just 77 minutes, directorQuentin Dupieuxsets the visionary journey of his main character, Georges (Oscar winnerJean Dujardin), up and running quickly, establishing a crisp but well-paced story of a man whose life continues on a steep downward spiral after he falls in love with a tan, tasseled deerskin jacket for sale online, and buys it. Adèle Haenel stars opposite Dujardin as Denise, and together,they propel this criminally underseen and underappreciated film.
What Is ‘Deerskin’ About?
Georges is a middle-aged man whose marriage is falling apart. His life is lacking in direction when he comes across a deerskin jacket online and decides that he has to own it. He purchases the jacket, and the owner throws a camcorder into the deal.Deerskinis a brilliant example of how two unlikely things, like a jacket and a mini-camera, can be pivotal plot devices– innocuous on the surface but perfectly situated to create acompelling and bonkers film.
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At first, Georges isn’t interested in the camera, having fallen in love with the Davy Crockett-looking jacket.But as his relationship with the jacket evolves and becomes more odd and unique, he discovers that he loves the cut of his figure while wearing the coat so much that he wants to make a movie chronicling his love affair with it. Georges is getting divorced from his wife, and when she cuts him off financially, he poses as a film director and tells whoever will listen that he is making a movie about how he must be the only person in the world to wear a jacket. Eventually, he adds more deerskin clothing items to his new look, becoming even more detached from reality as hisobsession becomes deadly.Deerskin’s off-the-wall premise might have been awkward in less talented hands, but Dujardin is so dynamic in the lead role that it all somehow seems plausible.
‘Deerskin’ Is an Eccentric Example of the French’s Love Affair With Fashion
French culture has always been fashion-forward, on the leading edge of the newest sartorial trends. So, when Dupieux decided to make a send-up satire about a man so enamored with an old deerskin coat, it provided a beautifully ironic dichotomy that shouldn’t be lost on the audience. Superficially, Georges looks like a European Daniel Boone or a 19th-century Texan who fought to defend the Alamo, but the way he strikes a pose in the mirror and makes his anachronistic and obsolete new look the driving force behind a descent into madness is innovative filmmaking at its very best.
Deerskinis made even more fascinating by how Georges' worldview becomes more twisted and emotionally distorted with each piece of deerskin material that he adds to his wardrobe. For instance, after Georges gets a deerskin hat, he begins to acquire a bloodlust for anyone else who has the audacity to wear a jacket. When Denise gifts him a matching pair of tasseled deerskin pants, he becomes a full-blown serial killer using the blade of a ceiling fan to massacre his unsuspecting, coat-wearing victims. Because the audience is purposely deprived of knowing much about Georges' life and backstory, Dupieux creates a clean slate that allows for a complete emotional investment in his warped character arc.
Denise Purposely Feeds Georges and His Narcissism in ‘Deerskin’
A somewhat pivotal moment inDeerskinunfolds as Georges walks home after a night out at the local bar. On his way home,a sex worker calls him “Spielberg” because she has heard he’s making a movie. This comes just after he had only just claimed that he was a filmmaker for the first time, but he becomes indignant when she thinks he is making pornography instead of a “real film.” After all, with a jacket like his and his “killer style,” how can he be anything but the real thing? This subtle moment offers an insight into his fragile state of mind, an early indication of how committed Georges is to the story he is telling. By this point, Georges is penniless and having to swindle the town locals for food and money. One of the locals he pulls into his web is the bartender, Denise. She tells Georges she has some editing experience and offers him some money, saying she believes in his quirky film.
Haenel is superb in the complex role. On the surface, Denise appears to be a naive young woman who will feed Georges’s ego; but in truth, she only wants to see how far the delusional director will go. Denise is the viewer’s proxy, and it is through her that we get to see what is initially alight-hearted tale reminiscent ofDon Quixoteturn into a warped and bloody film that takes no prisoners.Deerskin’s gradual change in mood and tone from absurd and silly to something out of aCoen BrothersorHitchcock moviemasterfully unravels as a work of splendid storytelling.
Quentin Dupieux Channels Coen Brothers and Hitchcock in ‘Deerskin’
At one point inDeerskin, Dupieux uses short piano riffs and taut trumpet cuts to transform the ambiance, evoking Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic use of brief musical cues to heighten suspense and alter the film’s tone. Additionally, the final twenty minutes carry a distinct noirish vibe reminiscent of the Coen Brothers' early work, particularlyBlood Simple. As Georges becomes more untethered from reality, he also feels like a character you would find inNo Country For Old Men– specificallythe diabolical assassin Anton Chigur (Javier Bardem).
George’s crazed outlook strongly resembles some of thebest and most eclectic Coen Brothers characters. They are timeless and offbeat players, impossible to stuff into any one genre but somehow tragically identifiable in both their simplicity and complexity. By the time our main protagonist meets his untimely and shocking demise at the hands of a local man with a rifle, there is a palpable sense of uncertainty. The film is barely feature-length, and part of the viewer mourns for the troubled and harmless man introduced at the beginning, but it is also clear that he has morphed into something out of control and dangerous and needs to be put down. When Denise rips the deerskin jacket from Georges’s lifeless body and puts it on, the symbolism oozes. As the screen fades to black and the credits roll, you are left to wonder what effect the coat will have on her.
Deerskin follows a man’s obsession with his designer deerskin jacket, which leads him down a bizarre path of personal transformation. As his fixation grows, he embarks on a series of increasingly strange actions, entwining the lives of those around him in his peculiar journey toward self-fulfillment.
Deerskinis currently available to stream on Mubi in the U.S.
WATCH ON MUBI
