Chanson douce

Not bad, but a bit long-winded. And certainly not a Crime, but a serious Drama.

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...

The nanny is par excellence evil: from "the omen" to "the nanny " to "to the hand that rocks the cradle" ,they are a nuisance to live with at home .

"Chanson douce " is actually closer to Claude Chabrol's "la cérémonie" ,based on Ruth Rendell 's absorbing novel ,which had spawned another (Canadian) version before . The problem is that,not only Lucie Borteleau does not possess Chabrol's mastery ,but the main actress is left to her own devices ,with no other actor providing a credible counterpart :in "la cérémonie" ,servant Sandrine Bonnaire was joined by green-grocer Huppert ,and both made a sensational pair.

Karine Viard is the ONLY reason why you would see this movie through ;one of the best contemporary French actresses,everything rests on her shoulders ;everything! a very complex woman ,she makes the viewer think she's irrational from her very first scene : she's too perfect, too nice ,too madonna-like ,too devoted ; little by little ,cracks appear in the mirror: she's so possessive she does not want HER children to play with the others in the park ; she urges the little girl to coax her parents into making a little baby; sometimes she may be almost frightening when she plays the wolf ;the actress is so gifted and so convincing one can wonder why her director felt compelled to introduce a "monster" crawling out of the sink !Filler indeed and too facile!

Unfortunately ,the other characters are cardboard : mom is ,as it is often the case ,if we are to believe the screenwriters ,a lawyer ,and she and mainly her hubby are totally bland ; there could have been an interesting issue when the man screams :"she's our employee",but the social relationship is only skimmed over ; the rich bourgeois's wasting -Louise is absolutely right,as far as the yogourts are concerned- might have fitted the "chanson douce" concept.But grandma ,whose favorite pastime is to play the fool with her grandchildren (to infuriate the nanny?),it takes the biscuit!the actress is so unbearable it's a blessing her screen time is short.If it weren't for Viard's performance , the movie would be devoid of any dramatic progression and the ending would not make any sense (and would not justify the mother's misgivings in the first scene.)

The novel on which the movie is based was awarded the Prix Goncourt 2016. The movie is not worth a Cesar but I give an extra star to the movie , dedicated to Miss Viard .

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.