MADELEINE COLLINS
Judith (Virginie Efira)’s life is split between two households in two countries. In Switzerland, she is Margot, a translator who lives with Abdel (Quim Gutierrez) and the little girl they are raising. In France, she is known as Judith and lives a glamorous life with acclaimed orchestra conductor Melvil (Bruno Salomone) and their two older boys. This fragile balance, based on complex lies and tightly scheduled back-and-forth trips, gradually begins to crack and veer dangerously off the rails. The mysterious reasons for her lies, and the complications that ensue from her efforts to keep the two lives separate, propel the third narrative feature from Antoine Barraud anchored by a virtuoso turn from Efira in all of her character’s many guises.
Judith/Margot’s curated existence managing two identities and two families begins to crumble, exposing her lies, motives, and underlying trauma. 
Virginie Efira wows audiences as a woman wearing all the hats. Effortlessly embodying each distinct persona, Efira proves, once again she is a star. It is a balancing act of power structures, dangerous satisfaction, and unusual sacrifice. 
Antoine Barraud gives audiences a film almost best viewed without prior knowledge of the plot. Enticing the audience and challenging their sense of morality, MADELEINE COLLINS hypnotizes with twists, turns, and deep complexity. Barraud and co-writer Héléna Klotz carefully weave an unmissable commentary about beauty, unrequited male infatuation, and childhood trauma into the narrative. The film overflows with nuance, and its final reveal changes everything. It is a wildly elaborate hurricane of grief.
Directed by Antoine BarraudWritten by Antoine Barraud and Héléna KlotzStarring Virginie Efira (Revoir Paris, Other People’s Children, Sibyl, Elle, Benedetta)Co-starring Bruno Salomone, Quim Gutierrez, Jacqueline Bisset, Valérie Donzelli, Nadav Lapid
What I really enjoyed about Justine Triet’s ‘Sybil’ is the layered stories that are told in real-time alongside flashbacks. The result leaves you with a feeling of unease. Was it happening now or was she remembering? I got a feeling of confusion that was intriguing and captivating.
There’s nothing simple about this dark comedy/drama, which is what gives it such rich complexity. It’s disorienting at first to figure out what is going on, which seems to mimic Sybil’s current status. Just when you think you know where it’s going, life happens. It’s unpredictable and fascinating.
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