Thomas Hardiman's Medusa Deluxe is now showing exclusively on Mubi in many countries—including the United Kingdom, India, Turkey, Brazil, and Mexico—from August 4, 2023, in the series Debuts.Medusa Deluxe.In the midst of navigating the drama that ensnares all of Medusa Deluxe’s characters, Claire Perkins’s Cleve looks at a fellow hairdresser and explains, “There is some serious history in this hairstyle, do you know that? A story.” The hairstyle in question is initially shown as an unfinished work of art (or travesty if you’re a competitor hoping for a fellow stylist’s downfall): a mess of strands that’s easy to see through and hard to make sense of. But as the film progresses, Cleve creates a truly beautiful and engrossing design out of what was once incoherent webbing: a glowing ship upon a wave of hair, meant to be a recreation of the Orient,...
- 8/31/2023
- MUBI
In the world of Medusa Deluxe, beauticians wield scissors like knives and hairsprays like pistols. Hairstyling competitions are fraught spaces stacked with talented participants. Anyone can tame an unruly mane, but only a handful can turn it into a work of art.
“I’m in the middle of a Georgian fontange,” one stylist snaps in the opening scene of Thomas Hardiman’s exciting directorial debut. “You can’t just walk away from that shit.” Tensions are high in this dressing room. Outside the door, police patrol the hall. Sirens blare in the distance. The death of Mosca (John Alan Roberts), one of the stylists, has paused the competition and forced a temporary lockdown.
The atmosphere is thick with suspicion. This is a cutthroat bunch, a community whose members convene annually to flaunt their skills and prove themselves. There are public alliances and private allegiances. Betrayals abound, too. Everyone has a theory.
“I’m in the middle of a Georgian fontange,” one stylist snaps in the opening scene of Thomas Hardiman’s exciting directorial debut. “You can’t just walk away from that shit.” Tensions are high in this dressing room. Outside the door, police patrol the hall. Sirens blare in the distance. The death of Mosca (John Alan Roberts), one of the stylists, has paused the competition and forced a temporary lockdown.
The atmosphere is thick with suspicion. This is a cutthroat bunch, a community whose members convene annually to flaunt their skills and prove themselves. There are public alliances and private allegiances. Betrayals abound, too. Everyone has a theory.
- 8/11/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There’s been a scalping at a Northern England hairdressing competition.
It’s all any of the hairdressers — “hair artists” might be a better description, given the towering Marie Antoinette-level coifs and rainbow-colored cascades and expertly sculpted geometric ‘dos they’ve designed — can talk about. The victim is Mosca, the presumed frontrunner before being found dead and mutilated. No one’s canceled the event, however, and his peers are prepping their models for the runway. The show must go on.
As for the suspects — well, where do we start?...
It’s all any of the hairdressers — “hair artists” might be a better description, given the towering Marie Antoinette-level coifs and rainbow-colored cascades and expertly sculpted geometric ‘dos they’ve designed — can talk about. The victim is Mosca, the presumed frontrunner before being found dead and mutilated. No one’s canceled the event, however, and his peers are prepping their models for the runway. The show must go on.
As for the suspects — well, where do we start?...
- 8/9/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Few, if any, single-shot movies ever justify the conceit. In fact, most of them do their material a disservice through the distraction that emerges naturally from the trickery. In other words, audiences are often put into the position of looking for the seams in the filmmaking, on the hunt for evidence of the artifice. In the case of writer-director Thomas Hardiman’s Medusa Deluxe, though, artifice is the entire raison d’être.
Set within the backstages of a cutthroat hairdressing competition, the film opens with a riled-up Cleve (played with dazzling fire by Clare Perkins) recounting the story’s inciting incident while fussing over a disgruntled model’s coif. Stylist Mosca (John Alan Roberts), presumed to be heavy competition, has not only been discovered dead, but also scalped. The remaining contestants are now sheltering in place and turbo-gossiping about who his presumed murderer could possibly be. At the same time,...
Set within the backstages of a cutthroat hairdressing competition, the film opens with a riled-up Cleve (played with dazzling fire by Clare Perkins) recounting the story’s inciting incident while fussing over a disgruntled model’s coif. Stylist Mosca (John Alan Roberts), presumed to be heavy competition, has not only been discovered dead, but also scalped. The remaining contestants are now sheltering in place and turbo-gossiping about who his presumed murderer could possibly be. At the same time,...
- 8/8/2023
- by Eric Henderson
- Slant Magazine
The British mystery thriller, Medusa Delux, which marks the debut of director Thomas Hardima, is truly unique in its presentation of this dialogue-driven mystery, but it’s the end that doesn’t quite do it for me. As one can expect, the film uses the gossip-mongering feature of hairdressers to its advantage and creates a thrilling experience in trying to figure out who killed one of their competitors. The characters are all fantastic and hold their own, which is fascinating because there’s no real protagonist, just a bunch of people that we’re paying attention to at different points in time in the film. The one continuous shot effect that the film pulls off is incredible, and the cinematography carries much of this film. It’s a very artsy and kind of camp take on murder mysteries, which I personally have never seen, and that’s why it’s worth a watch.
- 8/8/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2022 Fantastic Fest. A24 releases the film in select theaters and on VOD on Friday, August 11.
Elaborate braids, teased curls, and brightly colored dye all mix together at the hands of talented hairstylists prepping their models for an annual hair competition. Similar to the beautiful intricacies of hair styling, writer/director Thomas Hardiman weaves through an intriguing murder mystery with the audience at his mercy. An arresting and visually stunning achievement, “Medusa Deluxe” breaks the framework on storytelling and sheds the skin of a subculture in the process.
Confident and accomplished Cleve (powerfully played by Clare Perkins) is attempting to style the baroque Georgian Fontange on her model as she speculates about the horrific events of the evening with her religious rival Divine (Kayla Meikle). A stylist named Mosca has been found dead and scalped on the premises. Stressed, terrified, and suspicious,...
Elaborate braids, teased curls, and brightly colored dye all mix together at the hands of talented hairstylists prepping their models for an annual hair competition. Similar to the beautiful intricacies of hair styling, writer/director Thomas Hardiman weaves through an intriguing murder mystery with the audience at his mercy. An arresting and visually stunning achievement, “Medusa Deluxe” breaks the framework on storytelling and sheds the skin of a subculture in the process.
Confident and accomplished Cleve (powerfully played by Clare Perkins) is attempting to style the baroque Georgian Fontange on her model as she speculates about the horrific events of the evening with her religious rival Divine (Kayla Meikle). A stylist named Mosca has been found dead and scalped on the premises. Stressed, terrified, and suspicious,...
- 9/29/2022
- by Marisa Mirabal
- Indiewire
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