The movie

L’Origine du Mal

A woman on the verge of financial collapse attempts to reconnect with her wealthy, estranged father and his new family. A suspenseful thriller and a surprising plot.

Length: 123 min
Country: Canada, France
Language spoken: French
Language subtitles: Dutch
Cast: Laure Calamy, Doria Tillier, Jacques Weber, Dominique Blanc, Suzanne Clément, Céleste Brunnquell, Véronique Ruggia Saura
Director: Sébastien Marnier
Release date: 15/06/2023

Description

Forty-five-year-old Stéphane (Laure Calamy) struggles to make ends meet by working at a cannery, while her lover (Suzanne Clément) languishes in jail. At her wit’s end, she finally reaches out to her estranged billionaire father, Serge (veteran Jacques Weber), and suddenly finds herself in the world of the ultra-rich. In the luxurious family home, she gets to know the other women in Serge’s life and dark family secrets slowly come to light. But what is Stéphane really playing at? In the vein of ‘Knives Out’, this is an exciting mystery thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

‘Calamy offers a few surprises for anyone who only knows her as goofy Noémie in “Call My Agent!”, while the family members (including veteran Jacques Weber as a very old-school patriarch and a witty, malicious Dominique Blanc as his wife) are superb. Marnier’s film manages to be cruelly funny, while evoking the spirit of that master of the French thriller Claude Chabrol, with hints of Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Rendell.’—Jonathan Romney, The Guardian