Chanson douce

Screen adaptations of novels can be hit and miss and I'm afraid this one is firmly in the 'miss' category for me. It's extremely slow, fails to build any kind of suspense or tension, and I frankly didn't care for any of the characters or their fate, including the two children, as harsh as that may sound.

The ending is rather predictable too and lacks the shock factor the director would have hoped to achieve. Perhaps the only positive is the acting - Karin Viard puts in a good performance as main character Louise and at least makes the film watchable.

All-in-all, another disappointing and unnecessary screen adaptation of a popular thriller novel.

Whilst the acting is good the storyline isn't and really it's all rather pointless right up to the rather twisted ending. It's a story that's been told before and better in films like The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.

I can't recommend it I'm afraid.

Karin Viard's performance is just excellent: she's subtly unhinged, creepily obsessive and in the end plainly scary. Her character's background is barely delineated but we can see everything through her every move and word.

The parents are also good in their own way, but they don't have much script to work with: despite having to deal with an increasingly weird (to be kind) nanny, they seem to be unable to face the problem and act passively in most occasions (especially the mom). This creates an imbalance of tension in the movie and the natural climax doesn't feel as devastating as it should be.

I have to admit, when I read thriller I thought this was going to be over the top ... but overall that is something the movie can not be accused of. Yes there is a characer who takes things to far. But even small things are served in small bites for us to chew - no pun intended.

The central performance is amazing - and while I am still struggling with that end ... it still elevates the movie for me. Of course that can go either way for the viewers. Which by the way if you say you are using spoilers, I'd hope you would actually talk about something than being vague about it - like an open review - again no pun intended.

This creeps up on you for sure and while you may not agree with certain decision the characters take ... you can understand them. Empathy can be a great thing ... sometimes it is "wasted" on the wrong person. But how could you know that, right? Really well done and slow moving (pace wise), this will not be everyones tea ... but those who will like it, will actually cherish it.

This French feature is definitely not a crime drama; THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADDLE, back in 1992, starring Rebecca De Mornay, another evil nanny tale, WAS a thriller, with criminal elements. Here, you have nothing of the sort, only a pure depressing drama, showing a Karine Viard at her very best. That's only a shame that her character is not more deeply explained, many holes on this matter, but maybe that was a decision of the producers ad writers, to enhance the mystery behind her role. Karine Viard is the very highlight of this movie. She is not Jessica Walter in PLAY MISTY FOR ME, though the topic of this first Clint Eastwood's film was not the same at all. It was also question of a f...twisted mind gal. The scene at her home with the octopus was certainly inspired by a sequence from Jean Pierre Melville's LE CERCLE ROUGE. Remember Yves Montand, drunk, alone in his home...