Family Vice, movie review by Sebastien Marnier

It is the lost and absent look Laura Calamy To welcome us into the changing rooms of a factory like many in the introduction family representative (L’origin du mal)An action-packed family drama Sebastien Marnier presented to Venice 79. His third movie – After Can not be Fixed (2016) e last hour (2018) – In theaters from January 4, distributed by I Wonder Pictures and Unipol Biografilm Collection, Call to Collide Tanks Driving the Box Office and with a couple of interesting titles for different reasons such as Goodland And the a relative. But be careful to belittle her, or to exclude her from your choices, it would be a shame.

It was born as a “fairy tale”, at least in the intentions of the director who wanted to talk.From the end of patriarchyEntrusting the cast almost exclusively to women, the story is far from being a black comedy, as we often like to synthesize a film that tells intrigue with a certain dose of excitement, but without relying on the gory.

Family Vice: Who is Stefan? Who is his father?

In its presentation, many emphasize the twists and turns, or ‘de théâtre’, that continue the story of Stéphane, the hero played by an actress Call my agenthas already been awarded at the 2022 Venice Film Festival as Best Actress for Full time – one hundred percent. Perhaps too many, and in some cases not entirely necessary, to continue the highly organized narrative that developed in the luxurious villa of the Dumontet family in “the most beautiful place in the world”, the island of Porquerolles, off the Mediterranean coast of France, between Toulon and Saint-Tropez.

Here live his father Serge, with his wife Louise, his daughter Georges, who is busy reviving the family’s economic empire, his rebellious niece Jeanne, and the mysterious and unfriendly waitress Agnes (in order, Jack WeberAnd the Dominic BlankAnd the Dora Teller to Belle eraAnd the Celeste Brunkel And the Veronique Ruggia Saura). Genisom, it seems, is growing behind his facade hatred and vengeance, a context of lies that Stefan seems to want to fit in with, or be accepted by. At any price.

There is no family without vices. Who is without sin…

The root of the evil of the original title, according to the director, must be the spoiled, chauvinistic, devious, rambunctious father-in-law who finds, the only male and heterosexual in the group, yet hatches the best–or worst–plans is his so-called other half. from heaven, even in defiance of the supposed and much vaunted spirit of female solidarity. Women are the absolute protagonists of El Pais, especially considering Xavier Dolan’s muse, Susan Clementwhom we see as Stefan’s sidekick awaiting events from the prison where she was locked up.

The beauty of cinema is that everyone can have their own idea of ​​what they see, even if it is wrong (in general, wrong), even if they disagree with what the author claims. Who in this case presents us with yet another character – after the previous films – with unclear mental processes, complex social, and one who puts questionable decisions into action. Like the ones we gradually discover or the ones that create the plot of the movie that fans of Agatha Christie love or who Claude Chabrol.

And this has nothing to do with love, although many different types of relationships and relationships are mentioned, but there is a lot to do with need and self-affirmation. Not just for women, of course. It’s an ongoing RPG, and looks, from Calamy’s first game to the disillusioned cynical father, to the suspicious, superior, or almost childlike of the other characters in the family that could be defined as dysfunctional. be an understatement. This comes in part from Marnier’s personal experience, which not coincidentally makes his alter ego say (Young alien) thatThere is nothing worse than family“.

complex tuft

Despite many twists and turns, the path family deputy Flowing linearly, even if a fairly straightforward characterization of the characters involved, less sophisticated than expected, but perfectly adequate and practical in their face, Stefan invades, a ray of sunshine that threatens to burn out what everyone sows, according to their priorities. In the end – due to great performances by Calamy (and Blanc “from Comédie-Française”) – the cobweb itself is the film’s main protagonist who continues to provide endings and conclusions to an extent that is acceptable and beyond. , however justified.

A cobweb in which we realize we are becoming more and more entangled, without the general firmness of tone used which makes us aware of its dangers (another feature attributed to the film and the director who enjoys using split screen It multiplies in an interesting and even symbolic way, all at once). Even when the labyrinth of passions, betrayals, and comfort we are invited to live through for the necessary two hours shows us its most brutal, insane, and violent sides.