The Reel Review
An ex-con in dire financial straits reunites with her ailing, estranged father at his luxurious seaside estate on an island off the coast of the French Riviera, discovering the rest of his immediate family is plotting to take control of his business empire. Laure Calamy stars in this French psychological thriller.
Unsurprisingly, the evil in The Origin of Evil is money, in a tale of greed and deception where nearly everyone is plotting and scheming against one another to get it. With a handful of visual nods to director Brian De Palma (Carrie, Dressed to Kill), writer/director Sébastien Marnier (School’s Out) fills his cleverly constructed tale with subtle humor and twists galore.
Laure Calamy (Full Time, Call My Agent!) gives an impressively convincing portrait as the chameleon who has no problem telling bald-faced lies to the vapid, nouveau riche family members, or even killing, if necessary, to get what she wants. Her performance, aided by a strong supporting cast, carries the film all the way through to its not-so-surprising but still satisfying ending.
REEL FACTS
• The Origin of Evil was filmed in the Cote d’Azur and Pays de la Loire regions of France.
• Cesar award winner Laure Calamy (My Donkey, My Lover & I) is also known for her performances in Full Time, and the Netflix TV series Call My Agent!
• Sébastien Marnier says he very loosely based his film on his own working-class mother, who in her 60s reunited with her wealthy biological father who had abandoned her at the age of 4.
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