The Press at the 73rd Berlinale | Inside the mind of a misogynist

(Berlin) What drives young men to misogyny? Why is Andrew Tate’s hate speech so influential on social media? manodromethe new feature film by South African filmmaker John Trengove (TheWound), presented in official competition at the Berlinale, is interested in the “manosphere”, the culture of the “incels”, those masculinists who hold women – and feminists in particular – responsible for their setbacks.

Inspired by the election of Donald Trump in the United States and his characteristic bouts of triumph over toxic masculinity, John Trengove decided to make his film from the point of view of an angry young man. What feeds his hatred: women, “strangers”, gays? What is he repressing? What scars does he keep from his childhood?

Preferring subtle evocation to didactic demonstration, with a dose of empathy that cannot be mistaken for complacency, Trengove tells the story of Ralphie (Jesse Eisenberg), a young Uber driver – one of sponsors of the Berlinale, ironically – from New York pulling the devil by the tail. He was fired, his girlfriend is about to give birth. He barely has enough to eat, let alone pay for medical consultations.

He’s crumbling under the pressure and chilling out in a weight room, where he seems preoccupied with his image and very intrigued by those who are more muscular than him. He buys steroids from a guy his age, who wants to introduce him to wealthy friends who live in a country mansion.

Ralphie (Jesse Eisenberg) is initiated into a masculinist clan, which turns out to be a misogynistic cult led by a charismatic figure. Dad Dan (Adrien Brody) deftly plays on the heartstrings of his followers, whom he says he wants to free from the “gynosphere.”

Ralphie feels isolated, frustrated, left behind. He has the impression that his wife does not respect him, that his future is blocked. And that it is the fault of the people around him: these immigrants, these homosexuals, these women who, according to the dominant reactionary discourse, are now more “privileged” than him.

Dad Dan, on the contrary, values ​​him, compliments him, gives new meaning to his existence. He sees in him an exceptional young man, on earth to “create and annihilate”. Will Ralphie join the cult? Will he abandon his partner before giving birth? Will he give free rein to his violent impulses? What is reality and what is mental illness?

John Trengove skilfully plays codes of psychological suspense to keep us going. We inevitably think of Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese, but also to You Were Never Really Here by Lynne Ramsay and in the cinema of the Safdie brothers.

Jesse Eisenberg, who we have often seen embodying the same type of neurotic intellectual, is particularly striking in this counter-use of a young man in distress and unsure of himself, abandoned by everyone, whose violent impulses are less and less contained.

manodromeof sustained and constant tension, is a fascinating and at the same time terrifying foray into the head of a young man who does not love himself enough to love women.