31/08/2024 - VENICE 2024: In his feature debut, Austrian director Bernhard Wenger satirises the societal construct of a personality, making full use of the understated acting by Albrecht Schuch

Albrecht Schuch and Julia Franz Richter in Peacock

If something were to define the opening few minutes of Peacock [+see also:
trailer
interview: Bernhard Wenger
film profile], it would be the perfectly symmetrical wide shots – a controlled and perfectly curated gaze. Controlled and curated, such is also the life of Matthias (Albrecht Schuch), who takes centre stage during these shots. His existence is a tranquil haven of peace, with an aura of absolute zen around it – but it is soon to unravel. How it does so is the central conflict in Austrian director Bernhard Wenger’s feature debut, which has premiered in the International Film Critics’ Week at the 81st Venice Film Festival.

What Matthias offers in these first impressions is not a quick rundown of the man he is; rather, these are the personalities he takes on. Matthias works at a company called “My Companion – Friend for Hire”, taking on the role of the perfect partner for any occasion, in any situation, whether that means posing as the son of embittered old money, pretending to be the music-loving date of an older lady, or even helping a woman learn how to fight with her husband.

Yet in private, there does not seem to be much of a personality to speak of. When his girlfriend, Sophia (Julia Franz Richter), asks him what wine he wants to drink, he answers, “Whatever you prefer.” When the question crops up of whether one would step in in a physical fight, he can offer no stance, but only truisms. For some relationships, this might be an ideal scenario for a no-conflict zone. For Sophia, it is the end. “You’re not real any more,” she tells Matthias before she leaves him.

This might sound familiar to those who are familiar with Wenger’s work: a passive man left by a woman, to be left stumbling through the ever-more confusing ramifications of the situation, was already the set-up for his short film Excuse Me, I'm Looking for the Ping-pong Room and My Girlfriend. Once again, here, Wenger employs his dry, accentuated humour that tip-toes around the surreal, at times traversing genres into horror scenarios.

But Peacock is a movie in its own right, and the viewer gets to watch Matthias, who on the surface seems capable of playing the role of a new singleton to a T, but struggles with the mental implications. Without a counterpart to interact with, he is lost, condemned to his own thoughts. It is time he started dealing with himself and his problems, even his friend and colleague David (Anton Noori) tells him. But no rental dog, no affair and no spiritual cleansing seem to do the trick. Like the peacock at the retreat facility, Matthias will have to deal with his vanity and reject the notion of flawless perfectionism around him, in order to truly find himself.

Part of why Peacock works so well are Schuch’s chameleonic qualities, the blow-dried hairstyle with blond highlights and the moustache making him look like a well-groomed TV salesman. With his understated acting, controlled posture, soft voice and the bare minimum of emotion, he becomes something to project onto, an empty vase. No matter what over-the-top scenarios Wenger throws at him, he grabs them and plays them straight, further enhancing the satire. The humour on this (anti-)hero’s journey does not stem from quips or slapstick, but rather from the tragic realities of life’s absurdities.

Peacock was produced by Austria’s Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion and is distributed internationally by mk2 Films.

Photogallery 31/08/2024: Venice 2024 - Peacock

10 pictures available. Swipe left or right to see them all.

{0} of {1}

Bernhard Wenger, Albrecht Schuch, Julia Franz Richter, Anton Noori
© 2024 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it