Destroy his life, one household at a time

OK, OK, I’ll grant you that. On paper, the premise of the excellent series Maid of Netflix is ​​as hop life as Adele’s new song (guaranteed hit of the blues) or a depressing Saturday when it rains horizontally (instant hit).

Maid, offered in French and English, follows a 23-year-old young woman, the separated mother of an almost 3-year-old girl, who survives pain and misery by working as a cleaning lady. The protagonist’s own mother is completely dysfunctional and inadequate.

In fact, no one around the heroine has the capacity to pull her out of the hole, neither her bizarre father, nor her abusive ex-spouse, nor her rare friends. She is alone in the world, poor, isolated, without a diploma, without resources.

Wow, that’s a dapper show. Refill my prescription for antidepressants, it’s a rush, you think. Not so fast. Inspired by the real life of American author Stephanie Land, Maid do not sink into gratuitous miserability. This touching story, told in an almost documentary way, overflows with truth and authenticity. Really, it’s hard, captivating and moving at the same time.

In the middle of the night, without suitcase or savings, Alex (touching Margaret Qualley) flees an unhealthy relationship with the father of her little Maddy. Where will she spend the next few days? No idea. Alex, who dreams of becoming a writer, doesn’t have a single penny to rent a mini-studio or a motel room, and no one around her can accommodate her.

Knocking on the doors of all aid agencies, Alex bumps into loopholes in the system, which eludes the most vulnerable. The humiliation of begging for shelter, food, and the mountains of paperwork to fill out would put anyone off.

For example, to get a state-subsidized apartment, Alex has to show proof of employment, which she doesn’t have. To get a job, she must find a babysitter, whom she cannot afford. And to defend himself in court against his alcoholic ex-boyfriend who wants to get custody of Maddy, Alex has to hire a lawyer, but with what money? He has barely $ 2 left in his checking account.

The only job Alex manages to find is in a cleaning company, with extremely difficult working conditions. At the slightest mistake, especially when her chip falls ill, Alex’s boss threatens to fire her. Alex lives under constant stress to ensure the well-being of his little Maddy.

In the third episode out of a total of ten, we wonder if he will not run out of tiles on the ceiling so much they descend on Alex without respite. It makes us realize how hard the cycle of poverty is broken.

You can imagine the sky will clear one day for Alex and his daughter Maddy, the love of his life. It never becomes dirty or cheesy. What’s also great about Maidis that the mother-daughter duo of the series is played by a real mother-daughter duo. Alex’s performer Margaret Qualley has the amazing Andie MacDowell as mom, who plays her mom Paula in Maid. Paula is a bohemian artist, probably bipolar, who lives in a trailer with her younger lover. The two actresses are extraordinary there.

Bonus: Quebec comedian Théodore Pellerin interferes in Maid halfway through with a very interesting little role.

The beak of discord

What did Sabrina, the 23-year-old kinesiology student, do that was so terrible to be humiliated so much by her fellow mountain dwellers?Double occupancy in the West ? She spat into her sponsor’s glass? She ripped off an earring from Jay Du Temple? Did she formulate a complete sentence in French?

Nothing of that. During a trip to Newfoundland, Sabrina, in a “couple” with Frédérick, 24, gave a beak to Nicolas, 28, the bar manager who was in “a relationship” with Audrey, 31. years. That’s all. A consenting kiss between two consenting adults who take part in a reality show focused on reconciliations. Let’s say that we are far from the time when Kaled did not move with Ann-Sophie, in 2013.

But Frédérick felt cheated, unable to accept this gesture which goes against his values. In what looks like “slut-shaming”, Frédérick threw Sabrina into the basket like an old rag. Guilty of the same offense, Nicolas has not received such derogatory remarks as: “Sabrina, I find that your values ​​are placed in the wrong place”, dixit Audrey, the self-proclaimed Frenchwoman of the group. Who is she to rise to supreme moral authority? And where does this new Puritanism come from? Yes, I take this seriously, sorry.

Note to singles: it’s up to OD that you participate. Not a spiritual retreat on deepening the sacred bonds of marriage. Manage yourself.

It’s a shame that Patrice, the 23-year-old barber, was ousted on Sunday night because he was the champion of convoluted quotes at OD. Here is what he said about Jolie-Ann, whom he wanted to talk about intense things with – and not just her “gloss”.

“I want to enter into more hollow conversations with her”, hammered Patrice with all the confidence of the universe. Ah, Patrice. Thank you for all this depth, we will be bored.