Drone: paranoid criticism of our image society

Dronedystopia or reality?

For his first feature film, DroneSimon Bouisson continues in the vein of the techno-thriller that he revealed with the series Stem. The story of this hit series is that of “Lux”, a young computer genius who is slighted and humiliated when he enrolls in the best engineering school in France. To get revenge, he will hack the devices of the school’s “star” students, to get close to them and manipulate them. Isolation, harassment, paranoia, intrusion into private life through technologies that quickly overwhelm users… We find these same themes in Dronewith a bold and sometimes surprising treatment of cinematic scope.

Émilie (Marion Barbeau), of modest origins, arrives in Paris to finish her architectural studies. Taciturn, shy and uncomfortable, she had difficulty approaching people. But she doesn’t really need it, since it’s the people who come to her, fascinated by her presence and her mystery. Shy in reality, she is a little less so once at home, in the small apartment of an anonymous tower where she very often closes the shutter. In fact, he earns a small income as a camgirlrevealing her body and fueling strangers’ fantasies through her computer screen.

One day she realizes with amazement, then with growing anxiety, that a drone is following her and spying relentlessly. A particularly agile and futuristic drone, whose pilot he does not know. Only anonymous messages arrive regularly offering him money, against the increasingly oppressive presence of this mysterious drone…

A generous and paranoid thriller

Drone He has a flaw, that of being too generous. The most beautiful of defects, since in this first feature film the desire for the total work exudes, the one that combines a radical form (the POV, the use to the limits of the drone camera in sequence shot) with a lucid vision and critical discourse on contemporary society. Without forgetting the attentive interpretations of a very voluntary and inspired cast. Marion Barbeau, Stefan Crepon (Olivier) and Eugénie Derouand (Mina) shine, forming a trio that covers the entire psychological spectrum of today’s youth, from painful introversion to accomplished extroversion, including the self-hatred that reverberates on others.

What is this drone an allegory for? Who controls it and for what purpose? After all, does it really exist or is it an invention of Émilie, persecuted both by Olivier, her schoolmate with perverse inclinations, and by Richard (Cédric Kahn), a famous architect who turns out to be manipulative after Émilie’s unexpected hiring? in his agency. Did you choose it for its architectural skills or for something else? Is Émilie paranoid or is she right to be suspicious?

A genre film with multiple readings

Predation is targeted Dronewithout it being perfectly circumscribed. At the center of this criticism is obviously the dictatorship of images, those we give of ourselves and those we take away from others. Criticism of these images and, logically, of all the equipment that creates them: webcam, camera… and drones. Simon Bouisson turns Émilie’s body, desired both by the anonymous people who connect to it via the Internet and by the people she meets every day, into a cinematic body, as Ridley Scott did in his time with that of Sigourney Weaver in Alien. A body observed, bumped, hunted and wounded.

A body that literally offers itself to the camera, that of the drone like that of the film, and that ends up dancing and then fighting with it. Professional dancer, Marion Barbeau delivers Drone a remarkable physical performance that fascinates with every movement. But it’s so compelling that everything is sensitive, and it provokes a thematic excitement that makes the film lose the pattern that would have taken it to the next level.

Indeed, Drone it embarks on numerous directions, it opens onto paths which we are not sure whether they are false or simply suggested. If this serves the general paranoia that fuels the painful sensations of the film, it also gives a feeling of unpleasantness for a relatively short duration (1h50). In any case, his beautiful photographs of the nights when the drone takes flight and the characters come to life, his relevant critical writing on the cult of images and his casting and directing performances make Drone a surprising and successful genre film and dystopian thriller with surprising contemporary resonance.

Drone by Simon Bouisson, in theaters from October 2, 2024. Above is the trailer.

Source: Cine Serie

Ray

Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.