Maison Close falls into the category of stuff I would never watch if it hadn't been sent to me and thank the lord it was because this French drama about Parisian Prostitutes would be a show the HBO would be proud to have on its schedules.
Paris, 1871. This is the story of the women who inhabit and work in a luxury brothel, famous for its hospitality. The Madame has troubles of her own and whilst the women work to pay off their debt to this woman, they don't realise that she might be just as trapped as they are.
Some may assume that a TV series from France about prostitutes would be overloaded with sex and my horny little mind was expecting just that but what amazed me was just how well crafted Maison Close is. From the glorious direction right down to the wonderful and manipulative writing, just as manipulative as all the women and men in this piece.
True Blood suffers from far too many characters and not enough time to cram in their story arcs; in Maison Close the story arcs of all the girls are choreographed to blend and thrive as they play out alongside the end game of the piece.
There is no star here, in fact there are three or four main characters, characters that aren't black or white, you'll love them and you'll hate them throughout the eight episodes. Vera (Anne Charrier) wants her freedom and escapes from the house after her debt is paid but when her benefactor disappears she finds herself once again in the service of Hortense the owner of the brothel. Hortense (Valerie Karsenti) is the woman with a heart of stone and a love of muff, it appears she'll do anything to allow her business to thrive but just like the girls are indebted to her and unable to leave, her debts lie elsewhere and may endanger the lives of the girls who work for her.
Rose (Jemima West) has a secret but her story exposes the true horror of the web that has been weaved in this house, trapping innocents and forcing them to work in order to achieve freedom. Rose's story is a sad one but she has her own reasons for seeking entry into the brothel and now she has her way in, she'll never be allowed out.
It's a BRILLIANT story which converges and although these three actresses make up the bulk of the story, there's a supporting cast who are equally as stunning in their roles with story lines that will amaze and leave you dumb founded as the series plays out.
Maison Close was a real shock to the system, I expected it to be just another cash in on the dramas that are hitting DVD shelves in this country due to the success of The Killing and others like it on the BBC but Maison Close is truly deserving of your time.
I'd be happy if the directors and writers behind this took on feature films like Les Miserables or other works that demand attention to detail and understanding of the time. I'm truly shocked at just how brilliant this is. It was going to be a four star review but thanks to the final two episodes Maison Close achieves the dizzying heights of five stars... it's challenging, thoughtful and above all a truly entertaining piece of drama. You'll watch it from start to finish and wonder where the time went.
Bring on Season Two!!! GIVE IT TO US NOW!!!!
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Gushing over, Maison Close on Blu-ray may make it sound tempting, it's certainly worth your money for the direction, performances and story alone but the Blu-ray really isn't a classy affair. In fact the transfer on episode one is so bad, you'll think you Blu-ray player is broken. Plagued by grain and ghosting, you'll be praying that something gives because the enchanting tale is being magicked away by noise and dysfunction.
That however disappears on the rest of the set but it's never gone entirely, I'm not sure if it was a decision to soften the picture or add to the rustic nature of the series but it really didn't need it. This series would have benefited from honest to god pitch perfect clarity! The shots are meticulous and any tinkering with the picture that may have come later in post production really does the blu-ray no favours.
Audio is great, thumbs up but mainly uses the front sound stage as any good TV program should, we don't always have our surround sound systems plugged in!
You won't understand it but check out the French site for Maison Close, it's nifty http://maisonclose.canalplus.fr/