The Balconettes 2024

In a blistering 46-degree heat wave in Marseille, three friends — Nicole, Sanda Codreanu an aspiring writer crafting a story about a shy woman’s affair with her neighbor; Ruby, Souheila Yacoub a webcam model; and Elise, Noémie Merlant an actress still in character as Marilyn Monroe and entangled with lawyer Paul Christophe Montenez — linger in a sunlit apartment, watching from the balcony as they imagine the life of the mysterious neighbor across the street.

A minor accident involving Elise sets off a chain of reckless choices, when the neighbor invites the trio over to his apartment, which also doubles as a photo studio. What begins as a casual, alcohol-fueled gathering soon shifts into something darker as the evening spirals out of control. After Elise and Nicole turn in for the night, Ruby remains for the photo shoot, and hours later she staggers back, half-conscious and covered in blood — having accidentally killed the neighbor during an attempted rape.

Come morning, Ruby is unable to speak. The trio returns to the crime scene and discovers Magnani’s body hanging on a pole, with part of his genitals missing. They scramble to clean up, stashing the evidence in the freezer while Nicole retrieves the missing part and hides it in a food container. The weight of what happened presses in on them, and their initial camaraderie begins to fracture under fear and guilt.

Meanwhile, the man who has become entangled with Elise—the lawyer Paul—stalks her, and a cruel turn of events unfolds: Elise, who is pregnant, is raped in a hotel by the very person she believed might protect her. The trauma reverberates through Nicole, who starts to be haunted by the ghosts of the rapists, including the murdered neighbor, a presence that feels almost tangible in the room.

Ruby eventually shares with the friends what Magnani did to her, and a brutal decision follows. The women dismember the body, place the pieces into two suitcases, and push them into the ocean, trying to bury the truth beneath the waves. Elise makes the painful choice to have an abortion and to leave Paul behind. Nicole faces the spectral guilt in a more active way, insisting that the ghosts admit their guilt and then disappear.

In the final moments, the three women walk through the city, a changing mood lifting with them. As more and more women take to the streets with bare breasts, they celebrate a sense of liberation and a hard-won life beyond fear, suggesting a collective resilience and a new chapter for the women around them.