The Severed Head – As the first episode of Irma Vep begins, Mira Harberg (Alicia Vikander) arrives in Paris. Once they leave the airport, Mira tells Regina (Devon Ross) she is glad this is their last stop because she is sick of discussing Doomsday. She complains about having to talk about Nausicaa slicing her superhero husband’s throat and cutting off his testicles even though Regina believes it is the strongest movie in the film. Regina argues this is why the film is a hit in the US and will be in Paris too. It’ll be good for Herman (Byron Bowers). Regina says it’ll be good for her too since she needed a hit. Mira likes the idea of spending the next two months in Paris shooting The Vampires with Rene Vidal (Vincent Macaigne) who Regina worshipped in film school.

They reach the motel where Mira agrees to go over the schedule before resting. As they sit down, Mira learns they’re going to do a Vogue shoot before handling a few simple network TV spots. Michelle walks Mira through the events before Mira learns the director is in town with his new wife Laurie. Mira’s PR person promises she only just heard an hour ago that Laurie would be there. They discuss the fact that Laurie used to be Mira’s assistant for three years. They met on set and married a week after wrap. As Mira gets her makeup done, she explains that he promised to come to Stockholm and Rome but bailed. He is working on a Marvel sequel of sorts. Mira picks out a few guns for the photoshoot. Then, she talks to the media and admits they didn’t know Doomsday would get so big.

She is asked whether it struck a nerve due to present-day politics in Europe or the rise of populism and gender equality. Mira says gender quality feels ever present to her. When asked about cutting off Ragnar’s testicles, Mira explains that she tries to be as honest as possible and channel the woman she plays. It was a tough role though. She is questioned about saying she was worried about the future of Europe and the unraveling of democracy in Hungary in an interview. Mira doesn’t know much about European politics and suggests Herman said something about that. The only thing she can say is that Herman’s set isn’t exactly a democracy. She arrives at the next event and signs autographs until told they should so. Laurie joins Herman for the shoot. After they’re escorted away, Mira takes to the stage to have her photo taken.

She is introduced to David who is with a major news outlet. Mira confirms she’ll be shooting a remake of a French silent film in Paris in a few days. She will be portraying Irma Vep in The Vampires. When she says Rene Vidal is directing, David calls it an unexpected match because she usually does bigger commercial movies. She thinks that makes it more exciting. Mira has seen the original serial three times and likes to brag about it since it is seven hours long. Herman talks to another man about shooting a film in an abandoned factory in Detroit. He tells Miguel that you have to be radical when you have 15 days to shoot a feature. Some young exec from Disney just happened to like it. Herman excuses himself when he learns that Mira has entered.

He tells her he wanted to surprise her by showing up for the last day. Herman believes they’ll be together again for awards season since the feedback has been wild. The studio is backing a major campaign so they’ll need her. After she tells him what she is doing in Paris, Herman instructs her to be around because they’ll probably pick up a few nominations. Mira runs into Laurie as they agree they need to catch up. They go outside for a smoke before Mira reveals she had no idea about her and Herman. Laurie thought it was obvious before saying she was just waiting for the right moment. Mira believes she was the last person to find out because Laurie was scared. Laura admits that she was since Mira is scary. Mira says she is sober now. Laurie doesn’t think she was exactly faithful either.

She asks Mira if she ever thought that might hurt her. Mira confesses that she didn’t. Laurie suggests an open relationship goes both ways, but Mira says it doesn’t. Although Laurie calls her controlling, Mira says she just isn’t used to getting dumped. She can’t believe it was for Herman who is such a bore. Laurie describes him as a good person. Mira asks if the plan is to have two kids and a picket white fence. Laurie claims he already has a family. She doesn’t think Mira should be judging her although Mira says she isn’t. Laurie accuses her of getting off on being a glamourous couple with Eamonn. Mira reminds her that she wasn’t only dating Eamonn. Laurie says she was sleeping with her in between errands she was running for her. Mira knows she has a better life with Herman since she is using his credit card, has a nice villa, and has a convertible.

Laurie gets a lot of the spotlight. Mira believes it has something to do with Herman’s wife suing him, but Laurie says they’ve settled. In the car, Regina admits she thought it was okay after seeing it for the third time. It wasn’t that bad for that kind of film although she doesn’t buy Edward as Emperor of the Galaxy. As they return to the motel, Regina says she isn’t coming up since she wants to see if the pool is still open. In the morning, Regina asks a man at the desk to call Ms. Harberg in room 567. Mira joins her and reveals she took some pills because she couldn’t sleep. While they ride to their destination, two men find the body of Chief Inspector Durtal in the movie. Rene believes there is too much smoke. He also tells the men in the boat how to hook the body. He complains that he wasn’t scared even though it has to be scary.

He reminds them that the episode is called The Severed Head so they need to see that. Moments later, Rene wants to talk to Mira since she is the star. They agree it is a bit odd meeting for the first time after only chatting on Skype. Rene didn’t think she would take him seriously, but Mira admits she didn’t need convincing because she is a fan. He says the same about her before revealing he doesn’t care about movies anymore. Rene tells her she has a magnetic presence and glows. When she asks how it is going so far, Rene reveals he has some bad news. He says he is never happy. There is no plan because his job is to screw up the plan. Then, they begin talking about the first episode which is about establishing how ruthless vampires can be. They’re ruled by a mastermind known only as the Grand Vampire.

Rene shows her the video on his phone and points out Philippe Guerande who is a journalist and the vampires’ foe. He exposes the crimes of the Vampires in the press. The Grand Vampire is furious and wants revenge so he threatens Philippe with the same fate as Inspector Durtal. Rene sits down with her again later to apologize for being so busy because of the severed head scene. Mira wants to understand his approach. After she asks about Irma’s role, he says it was the first time a villainess was the star of a serial. Perils of Pauline was all the rage in the States in 1916. While showing her pictures of Pauline, he explains she was the ultimate damsel in distress. Irma is the polar opposite and fascinating because she is pure evil. Rene insists villainesses are sexy in a whole new way and Musidora was a fetish for a whole generation.

Mira believes she was more complex since she was an artist in her own right. She was one of the first female directors too. Despite everything else, they believe everything was in Irma Vep. Mira sees it that way too as she calls her a strong, sensual woman. She questions how she can resist the opportunity to pay tribute to an outlaw. Rene thinks she is an outlaw herself deep down. It is what they share. Mira thanks him for the compliment although she is nowhere near her league. Philippe shows the others the hidden compartment in his room and finds the box inside. When the box is opened, they see the head of Chief Inspector Durtal. Later, the actor playing Philippe pulls Rene aside to ask what makes him tick as a man and a journalist.

Rene tells Edmond (Vincent Lacoste) to do his thing. Edmond says the vampires will kill his fiancée Marfa so they must establish their love to understand his vengeance. Although he loves her, there is no scene that shows it. Edmond wants to show their passion. When Rene says he won’t betray Feuillade, Edmond says he was a hack. Rene quickly refutes that and leaves to grab him a cold water. Edmond admits he wants a sex scene with Marfa. Rene reminds him that Severine (Sigrid Bouaziz) is playing Marfa. He suspects they had an affair and there was a restraining order. Edmond can’t talk about it.  Gregory approaches Rene to say they need to talk. In private, he asks Rene whether he told the insurance doctor that he is on antidepressants. Rene admits he told him he had been taking some fairly powerful mood stabilizers.

He is told this makes him a liability. Everyone lies about their addictions because films wouldn’t get made otherwise. Rene thanks God for his pills. Gregory reminds him that Leonard Cohen and God aren’t going to pay for these crazy insurance premiums. The financiers want to shut them down. Zoe (Jeanne Balibar) goes with Mira to look at pictures of the old costumes with Eriberto and others. Zoe complains about all American actresses wearing leather. Eriberto admits that is why he picked silver velvet. Pierre brings in the sample so they can look at it. Mira says Musidora wasn’t afraid of her femininity which scared her foes. After Mira looks at the sample, Eriberto allows her to try on the prototype. Zoe loves it. She explains that she seems vulnerable and that makes her all the more dangerous. They talk about how Feuillade and Musidora had limits but made film history together.

Mira sneaks around, goes up the stairs, and steals a credit card from a purse sitting on a table. Edmond goes to the restaurant to wait for Severine. As she arrives outside, she is busy talking to Karina on the phone. Severine sits down with Edmond who says they need a scene to establish the relationship between their characters. It needs to be a scene that clearly establishes their passion. Severine believes he is talking about a sex scene. Once he admits it is a sex scene, she reminds him that their relationship is history. Edmond knew she’d have reservations so he thought about bringing in an intimacy coordinator. He thinks they could help them play the scene in a nuanced way despite their past conflicts and her legitimate concerns. She soon learns that her character’s name is Marfa.

They discuss the name before Edmond says he read an article about intimacy coordinators. Severine says he shouldn’t expect her to rehearse a sex scene with him with or without an intimacy director. She isn’t going to let him touch her supervised or not. Laurie visits Mira at the set and asks her to show her how hot she is in her suit. She asks Mira to do it like she used to do it for her. Mira complains that the others are looking at her although Laurie believes she is turned on. Mira doesn’t want the crew seeing her like this. Laurie tells her she can sit down now that she is happy. She tells Mira that she went on a Couture spree as Mira reminds her that she used to do all the buying. Mira thinks that is her revenge, but Laurie says her revenge is feeling like she has Mira wrapped around her little finger.

Mira admits she does before following more of Laurie’s orders. Laurie asks whether she wants her back. Mira is forced to plead for her to come back. Laurie says she is sexy when she begs, but she has to go and drop off the bags at the Plaza Athenee. Mira reveals she is moving out of there to some cheaper place the French production booked. Laurie is glad she skipped this one. She says they might have a drink if she visits her at the Plaza. Rene plans the next shoot. Severine is shown the movie. That evening, Philippe visits his finance and star dancer Marfa in her dressing room. On his way out, Philippe doesn’t recognize the grand vampire in disguise. The Count of Noirmoutier visits her after he leaves.

He invites her to supper tonight once she performs. She isn’t sure whether she should. The Count gives her a gift he describes as a small token of his profound admiration. Once he puts the ring on her finger, Rene cuts and asks her to give a stronger reaction. She needs to overact because it is the ring that kills. Rene explains that he wants to punish Philippe for revealing the Vampires’ crimes to the press. Severine doesn’t think their relationship is that important to Marfa. He interviewed her in the prior scene and you don’t interview your fiancée. She believes Marfa is more into the grand vampire since she took his ring. Rene says it is tragic for Philippe as well, but she calls him a dweeb who no one cares about him. They try to shoot it again. Next, Regina gets the vehicle loaded for Mira who says she’ll join her later because she has a meeting.

She was supposed to meet Laurie at 6:30 and it is already 7. Regina tries to get her to come and check out her new suite. She eventually agrees to leave without Mira. Rene goes to Gregory to tell him the opera kicked them out. The insurers have not backed down due to past issues associated with Agony in the Garden. It is revealed that Rene tried to run over the lead actor when making that movie. Rene suggests he had viable reasons such as him being a detestable actor. He doesn’t think it is anyone’s business since it was between him and the actor. Then, he went away to a Buddhist monastery. They found him there after halting production for two weeks. Rene admits that wasn’t the first incident as Gregory mentions the time he peed on a production’s period furniture.

Greg tells him he said the show was crap. Rene said that, but he feels indifferent now thanks to the medication. He is warned that they’re not going to insure him again and will not bend. Laurie finally shows up and sits down with Mira. When the waiter tries to take her order, Laurie says she probably needs to go since she has dinner with Herman. Mira doesn’t like that. Laurie says they can see each other again in LA. Mira curses her before she leaves.

 

Irma Vep Review

After finishing the first episode of Irma Vep, it is obvious that this is not going to be for everyone. I’d argue against the intellectual prerequisite of enjoying this show because this isn’t created for a specific subset of people. When creating, writing, and directing Irma Vep, I’d like to think Olivier Assayas would’ve wanted anyone and everyone to be able to enjoy his work.

Personally, I wasn’t hooked after the first episode. Although the story is alluring, it’ll be difficult for most viewers to truly empathize with the characters because they’re not relevant to the average viewer. Irma Vep may be a show that viewers have to stick with until the end even if some will not make it that far. Some performances were good especially the lead while some of the minor characters were just okay.

The relationship between Mira and Laurie was interesting although a bit annoying as well. Ultimately, people are either going to love Irma Vep or hate it. Those in the former category probably enjoy the creator’s prior works. While I wasn’t blown away by the first episode, I will be tempted to watch a few more. The first episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Irma Vep can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.