The Balconettes
The Balconettes
Three women in a Marseille apartment gets stuck in a heat wave. They find themselves trapped in a terrifying affair and longing for freedom.
Kevin Ward reviewedJune 30, 2025
The Balconettes, the second feature from Noémie Merlant, is a sun-drenched midnight riot packed with gore, ghostly detours, and feminist fury. Three Marseille roommates take revenge into their own hands after a predatory neighbor crosses the line—spiraling into one wild, genre-blending night.
Merlant kicks things off with a near-16-minute long cold open and a bold movie-star entrance—dressed in full Marilyn Monroe garb, lit by a single diagonal beam of light as she bursts into their checkered tile-floor apartment. From there, it’s buddy comedy meets body horror (severed penis included), wrapped in a candy-colored fever dream. Not a single redeemable man in sight—and that’s the point. Messy, vengeful, and unbothered. Just how I like it.