{{Short description|2022 film by Thomas Hardiman}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Use British English|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox film | name = Medusa Deluxe | image = Medusa Deluxe poster.png | alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Thomas Hardiman | producer = Michael Elliott<br>Lee Groombridge<br>Louise Palmkvist Hansen | writer = Thomas Hardiman | starring = {{Plainlist| * Anita-Joy Uwajeh * Clare Perkins * Darrell D'Silva * Debris Stevenson * Harriet Webb * Heider Ali * Kae Alexander * Kayla Meikle * Lilit Lesser * Luke Pasqualino * Nicholas Karimi }} | music = Koreless | cinematography = Robbie Ryan | editing = Fouad Gaber | studio = {{Plainlist| * BBC Film * BFI * EMU Films * Time Based Arts }} | distributor = Mubi<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalton|first=Ben |title=Mubi takes key territories for ''Medusa Deluxe'' including UK-Ireland and India (exclusive) |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/mubi-takes-key-territories-for-medusa-deluxe-including-uk-ireland-and-india-exclusive/5170648.article |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=Screen Daily}}</ref> | released = {{Film date|2022|8|6|df=y|Locarno|2023|6|9}} | runtime = 101 minutes<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Medusa Deluxe'' (15) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/medusa-deluxe-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdewmdux|access-date=2023-06-19 |website=British Board of Film Classification}}</ref> | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''Medusa Deluxe''''' is a 2022 British murder mystery film written and directed by Thomas Hardiman. It stars Clare Perkins, Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Kae Alexander, Harriet Webb, Darrell D'Silva, Luke Pasqualino and Heider Ali.
==Plot== {{expand section|date=October 2025}} A murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing contest. Extravagance and excess collide, as the death of a contestant sows seeds of division in a community whose passion for hair verges on obsession.
==Cast== * Clare Perkins as Cleve * Anita-Joy Uwajeh as Timba * Kayla Meikle as Divine * Kae Alexander as Inez * Harriet Webb as Kendra * Darrell D'Silva as Rene * Luke Pasqualino as Angel * Heider Ali as Gac * Lilit Lesser as Angie * Nicholas Karimi as Patricio * Debris Stevenson as Etsy * John Alan Roberts as Mosca
==Release== The film premiered at the Locarno Festival on 6 August 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/427518/|title= Locarno unveils the programmes of its parallel sections|last= Del Don|first= Muriel|date= 6 July 2022|website= Cineuropa|publisher= |access-date= 1 January 2023|quote=}}</ref> Prior to, Mubi and A24 acquired distribution rights in the United Kingdom, United States, and other territories.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/mubi-takes-key-territories-for-medusa-deluxe-including-uk-ireland-and-india-exclusive/5170648.article|title=Mubi takes key territories for 'Medusa Deluxe' including UK-Ireland and India (exclusive)|website=Screen International|first=Ben|last=Dalton|date=May 17, 2022|access-date=June 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/festivals/tom-hardiman-medusa-deluxe-sales-1235335422/|title=Hot Seller Locarno Title 'Medusa Deluxe' Closes More Deals for New Europe Film Sales (EXCLUSIVE)|website=Variety|first=Marta|last=Bałaga|date=August 7, 2022|access-date=June 25, 2023}}</ref> It was released in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2023, and was released in the United States on 11 August 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thefutureoftheforce.com/2023/05/10/mubi-releases-the-new-uk-trailer-and-artwork-for-medusa-deluxe/|title=MUBI Releases The New UK Trailer And Artwork For Medusa Deluxe|website=The Future of the Force|first=Carl|last=Roberts|date=May 10, 2023|access-date=June 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=One Paper |url=https://cdn.sanity.io/files/xq1bjtf4/production/ef789e329432d323f8150c73cca067e65c67b91e.pdf?dl=One%20Pager%20-%20MEDUSA%20DELUXE.pdf|access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=A24 Press}}</ref>
==Reception== {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|74|6.3|65|consensus=A uniquely stylish whodunit, ''Medusa Deluxe'' positions debuting director/co-writer Thomas Hardiman as a talented filmmaker with exciting potential.|access-date=August 9, 2023|ref=y}} {{Metacritic film prose|60|17|ref=yes|access-date=August 9, 2023}}
Jonathan Romney of ''Screen Daily'' called the film a "flamboyant sign-off to a picture that’s about as far you can get from the short-back-and-sides tradition of British realism", and wrote that the "electric performances, from a super-alert, bristling cast", give a "feel of live event to the action, framed in Academy ratio."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/medusa-deluxe-locarno-review/5173218.article|title= 'Medusa Deluxe': Locarno Review|last= Romney|first= Jonathan|date= 8 August 2022|website= Screen Daily|publisher= |access-date= 1 January 2023|quote=}}</ref> Jojo Ajisafe of ''Little White Lies'' called the film a "fun and extravagant murder mystery that shines a light on the beauty of hairdressing whilst leaving audiences guessing in this quick-witted whodunit."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://lwlies.com/festivals/medusa-deluxe-first-look-review/|title= Medusa Deluxe – first-look review|last= Ajisafe|first= Jojo|date= 20 October 2022|website= Little White Lies|publisher= |access-date= 1 January 2023|quote=}}</ref>
''The New York Times''<nowiki/>' Jeannette Catsoulis chose the film as one of its "Critic's Picks", hailing an "invigoratingly bold debut" [...] " displaying a flamboyant finesse and a cheeky, can’t-sit-still sensibility".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Catsoulis |first=Jeannette |title='Medusa Deluxe' Review: Curl Up and Die |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/movies/medusa-deluxe-review.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref> French newspaper ''Le Monde'' also praised the film as a "virtuoso debut".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-08-04 |title=" Medusa Deluxe ", sur Mubi : le cinéaste Thomas Hardiman fait des débuts virtuoses et délicieusement tirés par les cheveux |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2023/08/04/medusa-deluxe-sur-mubi-le-cineaste-thomas-hardiman-fait-des-debuts-virtuoses-et-delicieusement-tires-par-les-cheveux_6184469_3246.html |access-date=2024-10-03 |language=fr}}</ref>
Matthew Joseph Jenner of the ''International Cinephile Society'' rated the film 4.5 stars out of 5 and called the film a "masterpiece of carefully controlled chaos and "one of the more impressive directorial debuts of recent years."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://icsfilm.org/reviews/locarno-2022-review-medusa-deluxe-thomas-hardiman/|title= Locarno 2022 review: Medusa Deluxe (Thomas Hardiman)|last= Jenner|first= Matthew Joseph|date= 12 August 2022|website= International Cinephile Society|publisher= |access-date= 1 January 2023|quote=}}</ref> Marisa Mirabal of ''IndieWire'' graded the film a "B-" and called it a "flamboyant and alluring film that leaves audiences guessing until the very end about not only who committed the heinous crime but how exactly Hardiman was able to pull off such a visually delightful feature debut."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.indiewire.com/2022/09/medusa-deluxe-review-1234768005/|title= 'Medusa Deluxe' Review: Another Murder Mystery, This One Set at a Lavish Competitive Hairstyling Event|last= Mirabal|first= Marisa|date= 29 September 2022|website= IndieWire|publisher= |access-date= 1 January 2023|quote=}}</ref>
Guy Lodge of ''Variety'' praised the cinematography and the editing, but wrote that the "kinetic if not-quite-novel presentation doesn’t entirely patch over the weaknesses of Hardiman’s script, with its exhausting whirl of characters more colorful than they are shaded, and plotting that eventually runs out of compelling diversions from the matter at hand."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/medusa-deluxe-review-1235335450/|title= 'Medusa Deluxe' Review: One-Shot Hairdressing Murder Mystery Is an Elaborate, Backcombed Tease|last= Lodge|first= Guy|date= 7 August 2022|website= Variety|publisher= |access-date= 1 January 2023|quote=}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|14773478|Medusa Deluxe}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|medusa_deluxe|Medusa Deluxe}}
Category:2022 British films Category:2022 English-language films Category:2020s mystery thriller films Category:2022 films Category:2022 LGBTQ-related films Category:British LGBTQ-related films Category:British mystery thriller films Category:British murder mystery films Category:BBC Film films Category:British Film Institute films Category:A24 (company) films Category:English-language mystery thriller films