A mysterious woman, down on her luck and working a miserable job at a tinned fish factory, makes contact with the extremely wealthy father she鈥檚 never met 鈥� and his suspicious heirs 鈥� in the French thriller 鈥淭he Origin of Evil.鈥�
Though the title may conjure up associations with jump scares, hauntings and demonic possessions, this film, now playing in 200 theaters in North America, draws its inspirations not from horrors but from the psychological, erotic thrillers of the 1980s and 1990s.
The mystery woman, St茅phane, is played by Laure Calamy, an actor familiar to anyone who devoured the French comedy series 鈥淐all My Agent!鈥� The New York Times said the film was "' "
Like many French filmmakers before him, S茅bastien Marnier fell in love with cinema through Hollywood movies. Thrillers like 鈥淏asic Instinct,鈥� 鈥淔atal Attraction鈥� and 鈥淪ingle White Female鈥� made a big impact on him as a teenager. They were exciting, usually featured strong and dangerous women at the heart of them and, of course, they were sexy, which at 14 or 15 was a 鈥渞eally big deal,鈥� he laughed in a recent interview.
鈥淎merican cinema is really the foundation of my cinephilia,鈥� Marnier said through a translator. 鈥淲hat I like to look for is finding that feeling that American film gave me when I was a teenager, but making a truly French film with those feelings. So how do I take the inspiration that I felt as a teenager from those emotions to make a truly French film that is taking place on the French territory?鈥�
With 鈥淭he Origin of Evil鈥� he wanted to pay homage to those films and put them within a distinctly French context. Influences range from Claude Chabrol to A playful mixture of genres, it鈥檚 scary at times, but also funny, offbeat and, yes, sexy, as St茅phane, who is in a romantic relationship with a volatile imprisoned woman, navigates the personalities in her father Serge鈥檚 (Jacques Weber) orbit: His spendy wife Louise (Dominique Blanc), his daughter George (Doria Tillier) who is angling to push him out of the business, a jaded granddaughter (C茅leste Brunnquell) and their unfriendly maid (V茅ronique Ruggia).
Though the origin of this story comes from a very personal place 鈥� Marnier's mother, who made contact with her father later in life 鈥� he hopes it has broader commentary on issues affecting modern France.
鈥淚 think 鈥楾he Origin of Evil鈥� talks about the end of a certain French society, the end of a powerful patriarchy, the end of a super-rich right wing dominant class, especially in the Riviera, a very rich class that was anti-Semitic and extremely powerful,鈥� said Marnier. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 in this confrontation of two worlds that we find a tension that France, is really experiencing at the moment. There鈥檚 something very French, I think, in the way the film captures the class struggle.鈥�
It鈥檚 also a film where no one is quite what they seem, and it keeps you guessing and second guessing until the very end. Instrumental in this was the casting of Calamy.
鈥淪he has something that鈥檚 quite rare in French cinema, which is that she鈥檚 very beautiful and sexy, but on the other hand, she鈥檚 also banal in the good sense of the word. She鈥檚 really the woman next door,鈥� Marnier said. 鈥淎nd because of things like 鈥楥all My Agent!,鈥� we like her. We have an empathy for her.
"If I had cast we would know right away that she was going to kill everybody,鈥� he added.
St茅phane, it should be said, does not 鈥渒ill everybody,鈥� but she has her dark secrets too.
Of that De Palma comparison, Marnier deflects. It is, he said, much too much. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 deserve that,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 one of my favorite filmmakers.鈥�
He鈥檚 mostly just excited that after a few films, he鈥檚 finally got one that鈥檚 playing in American cinemas too.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really moving and beautiful,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y other films were released on platforms in the U.S., but to be released theatrically is a great gift.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
