The comedy of manners genre uses satire to expose the rituals and affectations that pass for social politeness. Driven by witty dialogue and characterisation, it laughs at the best and worst in human behaviour. A good example is the comedy drama Madame (2017) that blends themes of race and class in a charming Cinderella tale of self-discovery.

The plot line is deceptively straightforward. Pretentious American couple Anne (Toni Collette) and Bob (Harvey Keitel) have rented an elegant manor in trendy Paris to impress their friends and clients. On the eve of a 'spare-no-expense' formal dinner a guest cancels, leaving the dinner table with an odd number of guests. Anne instructs her shy servant Maria (Rossy de Palma) to make up the number, pretend to be a Spanish lady friend, and say very little. After a few drinks, Maria becomes outgoing and is noticed by British art broker David (Michael Smiley) who is convinced she is a mysterious aristocrat. To Anne's horror they begin seeing each other despite desperate attempts to stop them.

Woven into this simple plot is a portrait of a lowly maid hoping to be loved for who she is, not what she does. Her nemesis is Anne, the wicked witch who wants to keep her in place. While Keitel and Smiley competently fill their supporting roles, the emotional energy comes entirely from the two female stars. Collette portrays scandalised with consummate bitchery as she engineers what she calls a 'slow-motion car crash' and de Palma does a heart-warming rendition of the maid who dares to hope. Brilliantly filmed in Parisian locations, its narrative twists and turns play on themes of class ritual and racial stereotype. The script is at times laboured with trite references to knowing one's place, but it is de Palma who keeps the story alive. She uses those big innocent eyes to convey how it feels to suddenly believe that someone really loves you, all while being oblivious to the masquerade into which she has been thrust. De Palma's unconventional aesthetics become a device to highlight the deeper values of kind-hearted character and the superficiality of skin-deep beauty.

This slow-burning comedy is a study of inflated egos and natural humility. Its minimal plot allows the focus to stay on the battle between primal feminine drives, one stopping at nothing to preserve the social order, the other swept up in a Cinderella dream. Not all fairy tales have conclusive endings and nor does this one. But it has enough laughter and warm-hearted moments to be worth watching despite its BYO ending.

Married American couple Bob (Harvey Keitel) and Anne Fredericks (Toni Collette) live in Paris. When his son Steven invites himself to her dinner party, the superstitious Anne needs one more woman to balance the guest list and get away from the number 13. She forces her reluctant head maid Maria (Rossy de Palma) to pretend to be a friend. Steven plants a lie about Maria on David Morgan which entices the dilettante British aristocrat.

I don't like the Fredericks. This French comedy never gets me a laugh. I don't like anybody in this movie. I barely find Maria tolerable although it's no fault of her own. It's not her character. It's her situation. It's not a funny situation but rather an awkward uncomfortable one. Steven is not simply playing a joke on the family. He's playing a joke on innocent Maria and the audience. It ends with her walking into the sunset alone. It's probably the only way to end it other than if she walks off with her daughter. That would have been my pick. I can't find a single laugh.

"Madame" is a French English/French/Spanish-language film from this year (2017),so a really recent release and the newest work by French writer and director Amanda Sthers. The cast includes Oscar nominees Keitel and Collette (playing a married couple),but the title character is played by Almodovar regular Rossy de Palma. She is the good girl in here, a loyal housekeeper looking for and potentially finding love way outside her range of income as you may want to say so. de Palma was an interesting choice for the character and she pulled it off nicely, even if I always had the impression that villain/antagonist roles could be more suited to her. And as they obviously did not want to waste an actress like Collette (playing the exact opposite to de Palma),she got her slightly baity role and character transformation too, even if I was not really convinced by the latter. It was not Collette's fault, but really the way her character was written that left me underwhelmed at times, especially in the second half. The second half was generally weaker I would say. The first half was quite good and the only thing not working too well was maybe the fact that she really did not want her to be with the rich Irish guy. But you can explain that too with how she would not want a simple woman happier than her, that she was afraid her scam could come to light or that she just despises the low class to some extent, although that may not be true as there are brief moments in which she acts to de Palma's character like a friend.

The music during these 90 minutes is fun too and that start with the title song very early on already. Plus Asereje is just so damn catchy. As for the ending, I am not too sure. They wanted the realistic route instead of the feel-good happy ending route, but did it really feel realistic. I am not sure what it was with the family's son apparently suddenly having a romantic interest in RdP's character? Did he? It seemed this way. Or was it just intended to make us wonder why we accept Keitel's affair with old man young woman and not the other way around? Well it was because we saw Keitel's character wooing her early on, but afterward we just don't see the same with the other too, even if they apparently like each other. In any case, this modern take with some Cinderella story moments was a solid watch that included some moments that may make you laugh out loud. Greatness perhaps not achieved, but thanks to the actors, this one's certainly worth seeing for most of the characters and Joséphine de La Baume may be comfortably among the most stunning actresses I've seen all year. Go check it out if it plays near you.