PalCinema Review: Peacock

A man works as a companion for hire in a film exploring modern society's need for comfort, technological devices, and perfection.

October 3, 2025

FILM: PEACOCK

DIRECTED BY: BERNHARD WENGER

STARRING: ALBRECHT SCHUCH, ANTON NOORI, JULIA FRANZ RICHTER

RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars

By Dan Pal

During the opening scene of first-time feature director Bernhard Wenger’s film Peacock, a golf cart is burning out of control. In a single take, two people show up with extinguishers to bravely put the fire out. One of them is Matthias, played by Albrecht Schuch. We learn shortly after that Matthias is a companion for hire. Nothing is sexual here, he just works for a company that offers such services to anyone willing to pay. In one case, an older man hires him to act as his son in order to get into an exclusive club. Then there’s a woman named Vera who wants Matthias to teach her how to argue with her troublesome husband. Later there is a scene in which Matthias poses as a pilot in a boy’s classroom “bring your father to school day.”

Schuch is an interesting looking actor playing Matthias. He’s handsome but there is also something cold, unreactive, and almost artificial to his face. He has the right facial creams (in boxes), a fashionable moustache, and a modern looking hairstyle to fit into just about any contemporary scenario. You might recognize him as a similar character to the one Glen Powell plays in the recent Richard Linklater film, Hit Man. There is definitely a thematic link between the characters in that both of them make a living playing other roles. Matthias, however, doesn’t alter his looks to the extent that Powell does and the character essentially plays it fairly woodenly with all of his clients. Underneath, he’s lost. His relationship with his partner Sophia is crumbling. He begins to crack his outer shell a bit though when he meets Ina, an English-speaking woman from Norway.

From there, the film’s narrative moves in a number of different directions – as does Matthias. The tone is intentionally absurd. The director today who’s work this one might most resemble is Ruben Ostlund, who was Oscar-nominated for his film Triangle of Sadness in 2023 and has had other international successes with works such as The Square (2017) and Force Majeure (2014). In other words, Peacock is the kind of film that sometimes goes a bit over the top to make its points.

Here, Wenger seems to be exploring modern society’s need for comfort, the latest technological devices, and perfection. For comfort, dogs are able to be rented when necessary. People rent trams for parties. Technology creates devices that can mow lawns without a human nearby and turn on lights with the clap of hands. In this Vienna setting, anyone can rent a person to satisfy their needs for a better life. Of course, with all progress comes the occasional failure. We see Matthias struggling with his sun roof as well as his Alexa-like system that doesn’t understand what he needs to hear. The man needing Matthias to play his son places ridiculous demands to maintain his social status and Matthias is stalked by the husband of one of his clients.

Another director that came to my mind while watching Peacock was Jacques Tati, the mid-century French filmmaker whose film Mon Oncle was an international smash when released in the 1950s. In that Oscar-winner, Tati pokes fun at the absurdities associated with modern inventions. Characters possess the latest to impress but Tati knows that some of it is just plain unnecessary, faulty, and often laughable.

Peacock may not be as funny as Tati’s films but it has a similar dark outlook at the services and devices we create that may ultimately lead to more frustrations and disappointments than any major improvements for our well-being.

Peacock is Austria’s submission for the Best International Film Oscar this year. It opens in limited release today including the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.

Would you seek this film out? Are you a fan of absurd dark comedies?

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