Andrew Blake (John Malkovich) is one of the top businessman of the UK - but ever since his wife has died, he has lost all interest in dealmaking, instead goes on a trip to France to pay a visit to the mansion he and his wife have first met many years ago. Since the mansion was a guesthouse back in the day, he figures this still to be the case - but he's mistaken for someone applying for a job as butler, and he's promptly employed. And since sees this the only way to stay around for a few weeks, he promptly accepts the job. At first, he's rather helpless, and neither the rather cold owner of the estate Nathalie )Fanny Ardant) nor her quite bossy right hand Odile (Émilie Dequenne), but he soon gets a handle on it, also because he's a born problem solver. So he manages to get Manon (Eugénie Anselin), who's pregnant and secretly sleeps in the barn after having split up with her boyfriend a room at the mansion, gets clumsy groundskeeper Philippe (Philippe Bas) together with Odile, and even befriends the arrogant house cat. Only with Nathalie he has difficulties breaking the ice, especially after he learns she has financial diffuculties and would lke to advise her, but she thinks he's just stepping out of line. A possible turning point comes when he has a near-fatal accident falling off a ladder - but is it a turn for the better or the worse?

Now storywise, Mr. Blake at Your Service feels very much like a movie fallen out of time - in fact, a narrative like this one would feel much more in the 1930s than in 2023. But sometimes a movie like this also gives one a warm feeling at times, as sometimes one just needs an intentionally old-fashioned feel-good movie, provided it's well put together. And this one is put together very well, is elegantly filmed in fittingly lush locations, and the cast is pretty much top notch - so worth a watch for sure.

If this has gotten you at all interested, Mr. Blake at Your Service is coming to UK and Irish cinemas October 3rd, 2025.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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