Peacock
Written and Directed by Bernhard Wenger
Starring: Albrecht Schuch, Julia Franz Richter, Teresa Frostad Eggesbø
Runtime 1 hour and 42 minutes
Screens at Philadelphia Film Festival, October 24 at 1:15pm, tickets here

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

Bernhard Wenger’s delicious comedy-drama, Peacock, is all about how people manipulate things to make others think they are real. This shrewd and darkly funny film, his feature debut, is a terrific parable about how we put on a performance when we are out in the world, and how it is difficult for others, or even ourselves, to truly know who we are.

Matthias (Albrecht Schuch) works at My Companion, where he is hired to help people who need company. Offering himself a friend or partner “for every occasion,” Matthias always says and does the right thing. He is very good at his job. He reads Inside the Cockpit for his “performance” as an airline pilot for a kid’s bring-your-parent-to-school event. He has a long-term engagement being the far-flung son of a man turning 60. And he accompanies a man who needs to pose as a couple to get an apartment. 

The arrangements do have limitations. When Vera (Maria Hofståtter) wants to learn how to argue with her husband. Matthias says he cannot do that, but he can pretend to be her husband instead. Moreover, his services do not extend to intimacy; he declines a female client’s offer for a nightcap after they attend a concert together. He also declines her tip, asking for a good review instead.

But as skilled as Matthias is with his work, he doesn’t know how to act in real life. His girlfriend, Sophia (Julia Franz Richter) leaves him because, she tells Matthias, “You just don’t seem real anymore.” This development sends Matthias spiraling. It is not just that he struggles with sudden and painful loneliness, but he has difficulty interacting with people, such as the female plumber he may or may not have called.

Other odd events occur. Vera’s husband tracks Matthias down because he wants to know why she saw him, prompting Matthias to become rather paranoid and fearful of a comeuppance. He may have the right instincts about that, but he may also be overreacting. The brilliance of Peacock is that both possibilities are viable given how the film presents Matthias’ situation. 

Matthias tries to get comfortable in his own skin by attending a retreat, where folks lie in the contemplation grass, or practice Qigong in the nude, but he is still ill at ease. But when he reconnects with Ina (Teresa Frostad Eggesbø), who he met at a concert, he feels they have a deep, spiritual connection. However, as he becomes more attracted to her, Matthias starts to wonder if there is something real developing between them or if this is all a performance? 

It is hard for Matthias to be sure, and as Peacock unspools, viewers get to puzzle out what is real and what is a performance as well. There are several moments where characters are “acting” on purpose and the film is engaging when the same dialogue is repeated in different situations. There are also fun moments of deadpan absurdism that keep things off-kilter. 

But the real strength of the film is Schuch’s fantastic, multilayered performance. His blank expressions belie the emptiness Matthis feels inside. He may lack emotion, but Schuch delivers a soulful performance. He often evokes pity—especially during a scene where he tries to leave a performance art presentation and is trapped in the seats. As he cries, he releases his inchoate feelings and is comforted by one of the few attendees he did not annoy. Peacock is full of such cringe-inducing moments, and Schuch is masterful at generating sympathy.

The film ultimately pivots on how Matthias will extricate himself from this situation he created but can no longer bear. The solution he considers is daring and funny, and if it works, he can be free. Peacock takes the same kind of risk, and it succeeds wildly, thanks in no small part to Schuch’s remarkable performance and Wenger’s clever plotting and pitch-perfect tone.