Film Review: John Malkovich Serves Up Loss and Healing in ‘Mr. Blake at Your Service’

For years, whenever I’ve heard the name of actor John Malkovich, I couldn’t help but think of the Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jonze craziness of Being John Malkovich. That just changed after viewing the comedy-romance Mr. Blake at Your Service. This was not the type of film I’m normally drawn towards, but after seeing the preview, I thought I’d give it a chance and I’m glad I did.

John Malkovich stars as Andrew Blake, a rich English businessman grieving over the passing of his wife. He travels to France to visit the manor where they first met. A series of misunderstandings, chance encounters, and heartfelt decisions lead him to assuming the role of the butler there, and many lives begin to change.

Malkovich to the Rescue

Malkovich’s character, Andrew Blake, has lost all will to live after the death of his wife and his daughter moving to the other side of the world. The movie begins as he fails to show up to a huge special event at which he would have received a “lifetime achievement award.” Instead, he leaves England for France, to revisit the manor where he first met his wife decades earlier.

Blake has no intention of helping anyone else, but when he arrives at the manor, now a bed-and-breakfast, he meets a crew of people who all have relationship problems. None of this sounds funny, but as he works his way through these new relationships, the humor comes through.

And a Cat

Blake established his first successful new relationship with Mephisto – a cat. The cat serves in the role of Blake’s buddy, someone to share his thoughts with when he has no one else to talk to. He also accidentally shares the cat’s food.

The cat’s food was prepared by Odile, the feisty manor cook, played by Émilie Dequenne in one of her final screen performances. Odile, dedicated to the manor’s owner, directs the rest of the staff with passion and dedication.

The interaction between Blake and Odile provides the fuel for change. At one point, Odile opens up and asks Blake, “Do you have any regrets?”

Blake replies, “Many. But, at my age, you don’t think so much about the mistakes you’ve made as much as the people you miss. I miss so many of them.”

And that is the key to understanding much of what happens.

Butler?

Much of the humor derives from Blake balancing his pretend role as a butler with his real personality and expertise as a businessman. He ultimately puts this expertise in the service of the manor’s owner, Nathalie Beauvillier, played by Fanny Ardant. Beauvillier, grieving the recent loss of her husband, finds herself overwhelmed with the business aspects of running the manor. Blake helps.

Some of my favorite moments of fun come from the banter between Blake and the handyman played by Philippe Bas. Over a game of chess or over fixing up the grounds, they manage to debate the superiority of France versus England.

Second Time Around

The film, in French with subtitles, is making its second run at success. It premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2023. After that, it played theatrically across Europe, in Australia and New Zealand.

It did not have good distribution in the United States until being acquired this year by Sunrise Films. It began runs in select US theaters in June 2025 and becomes available for streaming on August 5.