A Origem do Mal

I saw THE ORIGIN OF EVIL at an AMC Theatre in Skokie, IL after the director Sebastien Marnier had noted that his film was released in over 200 theatres in the United States.

I had already watched Marnier's other two movies IRREPROCHABLE and SCHOOL'S OUT, and they are both remarkably self-assured and intelligent for a newer filmmaker; I was thrilled that his third movie is drawing attention.

THE ORIGIN OF EVIL is earmarked by the same wit that he had already displayed, but Marnier has honed his craft even more here. Casting seems to be a no-brainer, and everyone here especially Laura Calamy, who is something of a French it-girl, is a perfect fit.

American directors are simply less smart or do not care about the details in which Marnier swims. See this movie and clear your head of some of the Hollywood dreck.

I'm beginning to think that Laure Calamy doesn't make rotten films. She's really quite effective in this story of greed and manipulation as "Nathalie" or is that "Stéphane"?. Hmmm! Well initially, she's incarcerated with her lover (Suzanne Clément) but next thing she's writing to her wealthy but estranged father (Jacques Weber). A reconciliation takes place and she is quickly whisked off to his opulent villa where she is introduced to his rather eccentric family. There's the profligate wife "Louise" (Dominique Blanc) who spends fifteen hundred Euros a day shopping on the internet; very sceptical and ambitious daughter "George" (Doria Tillier) and their slightly creepy maid "Agnès" (Véronique Saura). When the family discover that their new arrival has no ID, they begin to suspect she's not quite all she claims. He, on the other hand, is facing court proceedings to cuckold him and give control of his money to his grasping family. He hopes that his new daughter can testify to their love and strong relationship and convince the judge he's not lost the plot. What happens now allows Calamy to get her character under your fingernails. We know what's actually going on from fairly early on, so the plot plays second fiddle to the acting and those characterisations here are engaging. Plaudits also must go to Blanc who pulls off the slightly deranged wife with aplomb. The denouement has a delicious little twist to it that, though probably a bit unrealistic, does add that je ne sais quoi to the proceedings. It's a little too long and maybe takes fifteen minutes more than we need to set the scene and get going; but once we are up and running it's well worth a gander.

The Origin of Evil is no such thing, it's a ridiculous title for such a sedate and slow-paced thriller. In fact, L'origine du mal is about a half an hour too long.

Stephane, a factory worker, seeks out the wealthy father who abandoned her mother long ago so that she can get to know him in his old age. Serge is not a good man, he admits to caring about nothing but work and money and to having "a few" women. His wife and daughter, George, can't stand him and seem determined to make his life a living hell - the wife by power shopping constantly for things she does not need (or really even want) to waste his millions, and the daughter has taken control of all of his existing businesses, to his chagrin. Stephane is immediately regarded with suspicion and anger by her spoiled half-sister George but insists on ingratiating herself into her father and step-mother's lives.

Stephane is hiding an awful lot, including a lesbian partner who is confined to jail for a crime she claims she didn't commit. I know all of this sounds really interesting and twisty, and the cinematography is nice, but The Origin of Evil is all-too-common. It's very average as a French thriller, I guess you could say it was done in the classic style of French cinema. Maybe I'm too used to watching Italian Giallos and K-Thrillers but this movie practically put me to sleep. I managed to take a break then stay with it until the end, which was relatively predictable at that point.

The one good thing I can say about this film is that because it is so serious, it's difficult not to empathize with Stephane, no matter how bad of a person she is. I'm often able to distance myself from nasty characters emotionally, but Stephane is played with a complexity that hints at her severe mental instability and emotional scars which encourages a sense of sympathy for her until the bitter end.

_L'Origine du mal_ vaguely reminds me of Claude Chabrol's _Flower of Evil_.

Both films are about a controlling patriarch, his dysfunctional family, his old(ish) money, possible incest.

Sebastien Marnier's 2022 film is even shot around the Les Sables-d'Olonne area, not far from Bordeux, the setting of Charbrol's film. In truth, _The Origin of Evil_ is far more interesting, and nastier, than _Flower_. The use of the split-screen technique adds to the ironic, detached tone.

It is not much of a spoiler to reveal that the down-and-out con artist played by Laure Calamy decides to takes over the identity of Stephane Dumontet, the long-lost illegitimate daughter of rich but frail Serge. She visits his chateau (only reachable by boat) and they hits it off at once. But his wife Louise (Dominique Blanc), daughter George (Doria Tillier), and maid Jeanne (Celeste Brunnquell) are considerably less pleased. Calamy, with her demure charm and easy smile, starts to wear down the women's resistance, but everyone turns out to be quite a bit more troubled, and perhaps evil, than he/she first appears.

It is a psychological thriller Chabrol would have been proud of. The main issue is Calamy, whom I like and who is wonderfully expressive as usual.

However, she does seem to have the same facial expressions and reactions whether she is annoyed at her married lover (_My Donkey, My Lover, and I_), facing the lost of her job (_Full Time_), or confronted with someone intent on killing her. In other words, she could use a bit more range. Blanc is very good as the long-suffering wife who is not above getting her revenge on her husband, while Jacques Weber also surprises with his multifaceted character.

Tillier (_Mrs. And Mme Adelman) has a more straight-forward role. Wow isn't she towering; she must be a full foot taller than Calamy. I wonder if that isn't why she is cast.

Or whos knocking on the door as we now enter the heaviest of tv-crime season, at least here in norway, the easter holiday season. This could be a bullseye film for the norwegian broadcaster NRK, a film with loads of scamming, identity theft, envy, mistrust, love and death...

i shall admit i used some time to get into the playbook of this filmstory, but when i saw the cluedos of the game it was pretty exciting after all. I cant say the same about the music made for this story, simple keyboard scrambling of such low quality even i couldve done it.

The cast playing the caracters of this awkward family is good, and leaves a lot of signals that too much money aint always a recipie for familiar happiness...

i guess this flick will suit le femmes of the audience, and quite a performance thinks the grumpy old man, recommende'