A Marca da Serpente

For the first two thirds of its length, this film is a first rate thriller. It establishes the characters very well and you quickly become engaged in the plot, which is made very easy to follow. The acting is excellent,( in particular Clovis Cornillac as the malevolent private detective Plender). There are moments of true tension. Its definitely one of the most enjoyable films of its type I've seen in years. Then BAM - Vincent is arrested for murder and the plot descends quickly into the worst kind of overwrought Hollywood action flick - the kind of thing that Harrison Ford does when he's in his innocent man wrongly-accused mode (complete with implausible stunts). I was really disappointed as the characters become involved in a melodramatic pantomime. What the hell happened?? A superb thriller ruined in the last half hour!!! I have given it a six rating because I enjoyed more of it than not - had it not been for the last half hour it would have got a nine!!

Mainly shot in "La Defense" area of the French capital city, which looks like US cities with its high towers, this movie has been written to be adapted in Hollywood. However, it is not a fake adaptation in French. Barbier did well as he focuses on the deeper feelings of the main 2 characters (may be a more independent movies' style)while opposing them in a face to face combat (just as any good blockbuster). It is a clever movie, very close to psycho-thrillers from Hollywood, starring Michael Douglas or Harisson ford, where the family of the looser-hero is threatened, his life beginning to become in jeopardy thanks to a cold manipulator who is his best nemesis. It is definitely not the same quality as Cape Fear, but contains some of its main elements. Actors Yvan Attal and Pierre Richard fit well the Douglas'suit of this movie, and Cornillac is a quite good Jeroen Krabbe French copy. Do not forget the other actors who perfectly play the "character" type whose purpose is to fulfill their mission, no more no less. Do not forget the pop corn!!

"Le Serpent" refers to the snake tattooed across the back of bad guy Joseph Plender (Clovis Cornillac), a seriously mixed-up individual who traces all his problems to a childhood prank that went horribly wrong. The man he holds responsible is Vincent Mandel, a fashion photographer played by Yvan Attal. The title may also be a reference to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, though no-one could describe Vincent's life as paradise, even before the arrival of Plender. He's in the middle of a messy divorce, and the last thing he needs is a ghost from his past that could prejudice his chances of getting custody of his children.

Yvan Attal is an appealing choice for the role of Vincent. He has the range to be both vulnerable in the early scenes, and tough and resourceful as the story develops. Clovis Cornillac, as Vincent's nemesis, gives a performance that is (necessarily) more contained, but is nevertheless very effective. His most interesting scene comes when Vincent's beautiful wife (Minna Haapkyla) offers herself to him and his response is to walk off in disgust and scrub himself from head to foot.

Though the film has the ability to surprise in scenes such as this, there's no escaping the fact that this is a conventional Hollywood psychological thriller in French dressing. Plender's progression from slimy blackmailer to serial-murdering super-villain is all part of the formula for such things, as is the flight from the police, the mano-a-mano confrontation (one of them does remember to bring a gun but it's quickly lost), the false ending...

The solid performances (including comedian Pierre Richard, cast against type as a fellow victim of Plender) and some stylish direction by Eric Barbier help to compensate for the fairly predictable story. Those looking for more intelligence, originality and depth in their recent French psycho-thrillers should turn to "Caché", "Feux rouges", "Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien" and "Ne le dis à personne", to name just four examples. Each of those films will reward repeated viewings. "Le Serpent", I fear, will not.

Let's face it. This script was made for Hollywood and no doubt, the producers want to sell it to them for a remake.

This doesn't mean it's a bad movie. It's a "classic" thriller, with the classic Cape Fear ingredients, but it certainly is by no means clear there it leads you. Clovis Corvillac is the splendid bad guy here and not a square character. Very dangerous, but also with trustworthy weak points.

There are some somewhat stupid action scenes to be found, but apart from that, this is about real people. OK, this couldn't happen in real life, but that doesn't matter. As I said, it's a classic thriller.

I bought this film at a cheap price at a drugstore because I found the story intriguing enough. I haven't heard about the movie or the book before and didn't even know the main actor Yvan Attal. Now, I will never forget him or this movie because I found a true and unexpected masterpiece by chance. This movie is dark, absorbing and intense and sends shivers down my spine by delivering everything a great psycho thriller should show us. This movie is a disturbing vengeance movie and those who always thought that the French were only able to do emotional and intellectual dramas and comedy movies should now be convinced that they can also create some heavier stuff. The great acting and the intense atmosphere are outstanding and even not comparable to other psycho thrillers so that the French have once again created something unique with this movie.

The storyline is slow paced and mysterious and becomes heavier and more and more disturbing. The characters are extremely interesting. The main actor Yvan Attal does an incredible job as a photographer that is going to get divorced soon that finds himself suddenly in the middle of a creepy nightmare that becomes reality without really knowing why. Clovis Cornillac plays the bad guy in a very mysterious, silent and creepy way that is chasing Yvan Attal and trying to destroy his life for a reason that is only revealed in a dramatical final showdown. It is hard to believe that this actor that plays a dangerous maniac and killer in this intense flick has already played Asterix and convinces in both styles. Those two actors are strong enough to carry the whole movie and we can add to them Olga Kurylenko that has a short role as a mysterious and beautiful femme fatale. The movie has a few action, gore and sex scenes but they are only some entertaining gimmicks as the whole movie is underlined by a very depressive atmosphere. The violence of this movie has a mental and not a physical touch. The whole scenery and style of directing is very photographic, very aesthetic and detailed so that a brilliant job by the director, screenwriter and cameramen are added to the perfect executions of the two main actors. Even Alfred Hitchcock or David Lynch could not have created a darker movie and only beat this movie in terms of weirdness and originality or pioneer's work. That's why "Le serpent" is maybe not properly innovating its genre but in my opinion by far the best of its kind in the last decade, maybe together with the epic vengeance movie "Oldboy" and the heavily disturbing instant Quebec classic "5150 rue des Ormes". It's a sad thing that this movie didn't get the attention it would have deserved so I would ask anyone that saw this movie to spread the word about it. I'm close to give a ten point rating to this flick which is a thing that I rarely consider. I just give nine points to this little gem because I haven't seen it often enough and because I don't know if this movie will still feel that intense in a decade or so.

All in all, I highly recommend this movie to anyone that likes disturbing and intriguing psycho thriller or simply the film noir genre. This is truly a rare masterpiece and a must see!