Eugénie Cléry (Lou de Laâge) can talk to spirits.  These claims, however true they may be, lead her upper-class Parisian father (Cédric Kahn) to admit her to Pitié-Salpêtrière, the premier neurological clinic at the time.  Under the strict care of the head nurse, Geneviève Gleizes (Mélanie Laurent), Eugénie slowly finds her place at the institution, but she never gives up the fight that she was falsely admitted and will do whatever it takes to regain her freedom. 

Released by Amazon, The Mad Women’s Ball is a French-language drama based off of Victoria Mas’ novel of the same name.  Laurent directs the film and is successful in achieving a solid tone throughout.  She keeps up an unsettled feeling and really captures the ghost story elements in a familiar yet expert manner.  Her high society sets are lavishly decorated which create great juxtaposition with the grayed walls of Pitié-Salpêtrière. 

As a ghost story, The Mad Women’s Ball seems to work at its best.  It is an interesting way to break into the genre and Laâge presents the role very well.  She is confident that what she is experiencing is true, but it does not fall into any kind of hokey, ritualistic performance.  The camera work and coloring, especially early on, when she experiences these other-worldly interactions creates the perfect feeling of dread and fear in us as an audience.  

Most of the film’s 122-minute run time takes place confined to the institution.  It is here, unfortunately, where the film fumbles.  Poor ensemble management has us identifying with many of these women more by their quirks or behavior than anything else.  We do not ever really know much about them and their more performative nature treats them more as set decoration than actual characters.  It loses its focus – or rather readjusts its focus – away from the supernatural and instead becomes more dramatic in tone and theme.  There is a lot that can be delved into, and the film does edge up on some of these ideas specifically the agency of women in the 1800’s, but it does not work as well as you would want in this aspect. 

The b-plot of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot (Grégoire Bonnet) and his hypnotherapy treatments on Louise (Lomane de Dietrich) is our main entry point into this aspect of the film’s thesis, but it is wholly undeveloped and really fails to make any focused argument about the abuses delivered by an uneducated and male-domineered medical field at the time.  While the script does not deliver on this front, Dietrich delivers an incredibly affecting performance and her arc is one of the most interesting and tragic of the entire narrative. 

The Mad Women’s Ball all leads up to the titular annual gala event where the family and local aristocrats are welcomed in to the halls of Pitié-Salpêtrière for a night of revelry with the patients.  As the multiple plots lines finally collide, Laurent creates great pacing and excitement as she cuts between the various characters and while we are left in a tizzy at the chaos of the ball room, the action is never unintelligible.  As the arcs come to a close, everyone’s story is wrapped up in a logical and satisfying way which is nice to see.  While it is a little too neat, to add any more to the ending would harm rather than help. 

Whereas Shutter Island (2010) or A Cure for Wellness (2016) know exactly what genre they are playing into and can bring those highpoints to light, The Mad Women’s Ball struggles to find its identity and becomes a cumbersome watch through the extended second act.  When it does find its stride, the film can be thrilling and has many great story elements, but they are too few and far between to really stay engaged for the long haul.  Laurent at the helm clearly has skill and talent, and while she leans a little too heavily on the influence of those who came before her to create the world of her film, she is definitely one to watch as her own directorial style continues to develop and take shape into something unique to her.