Lemming (2005)

After the death of his boss's wife, a young engineer faces the sudden psychological metamorphosis of his own wife, seemingly possessed by the soul of the deceased...

Director:

Dominik Moll

Writers:

Gilles Marchand, Dominik Moll

Stars:

Laurent Lucas, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling

4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Laurent Lucas	...	Alain Getty
Charlotte Gainsbourg	...	Bénédicte Getty
Charlotte Rampling	...	Alice Pollock
André Dussollier	...	Richard Pollock
Jacques Bonnaffé	...	Nicolas Chevalier
Véronique Affholder	...	Francine
Michel Cassagne	...	Le vétérinaire
Florence Desille	...	L'infirmière
Emmanuel Gayet	...	Le médecin de garde
Félix Gonzales	...	Félix, le fils du voisin
Nicolas Jouhet	...	L'employé des eaux
Fabrice Robert	...	Bruno
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Natacha Boussaa	...	Une call-girl

Storyline

The automation engineer Alain Getty and his beloved wife Bénédicte have just moved to the suburb of Bel-Air. Alain has developed the prototype of a flying web-cam for Pollock S.A., a high-tech company. After a successful presentation of his project to their clients, Alain invites his boss Richard Pollock and his wife Alice for dinner at his home. The couple arrives late, and Alice is extremely rude, insulting her husband and the young couple, and forcing Richard to leave the house earlier. During the night, Alain finds a rare Scandinavian lemming stuck in the siphon of the sink in the kitchen. On the next night, Alice unsuccessfully tries to seduce Alain after-hours in the laboratory of the company. On the next afternoon, she visits Bénédicte to apologize her behavior and cynically tells her sexual harassment to her husband. Then she locks herself in a room and commits suicide. On the next days, Bénédicte changes her behavior and relationship with Alain, seeming to be possessed by ...

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Plot Keywords:

lemming | suicide | murder | dream sequence | jealousy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Diaphana - synopsis, photos (French)

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 May 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

Due volte lei

Filming Locations:

Midi-Pyrénées, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$11,310 (USA) (19 May 2006)

Gross:

$81,612 (USA) (8 September 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Diaphana Films, France 3 Cinéma, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation en France : #109218

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Soundtracks

"An der schönen blauen Donau"
Written by Johann Strauß
Performed by The Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Fritz Reiner

User Reviews

Engaging and Intriguing Surrealistic Thriller

The automation engineer Alain Getty (Laurent Lucas) and his beloved wife Bénédicte (Charlotte Gainsbourg) have just moved to the suburb of Bel-Air. Alain has developed the prototype of a flying web-cam for Pollock S.A., a high-tech company. After a successful presentation of his project to their clients, Alain invites his boss Richard Pollock (André Dussollier) and his wife Alice (Charlotte Rampling) for dinner at his home. The couple arrives late, and Alice is extremely rude, insulting her husband and the young couple, and forcing Richard to leave the house earlier. During the night, Alain finds a rare Scandinavian lemming stuck in the siphon of the sink in the kitchen. On the next night, Alice unsuccessfully tries to seduce Alain after-hours in the laboratory of the company. On the next afternoon, she visits Bénédicte to apologize her behavior and cynically tells her sexual harassment to her husband. Then she locks herself in a room and commits suicide. On the next days, Bénédicte changes her behavior and relationship with Alain, seeming to be possessed by Alice.

"Lemming" is an engaging and intriguing surrealistic thriller. The screenplay follows the school of David Lynch, with a mysterious metamorphosis of Bénédicte into Alice, at least in her behavior. The development of the original and suspenseful plot is fantastic, making impossible to guess what is exactly happening. The beauties of Charlotte Rampling, with almost sixty years old, and Charlotte Gainsbourg are impressive, and the seduction of Alice is an extremely sexy, erotic and beautiful scene. "Lemming" was a great surprise for me and I highly recommend this film for viewers that aim to see a challenging movie where it is impossible to find what is daydream or reality. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Lemming, Instinto Animal" ("Lemming, Animal Instinct")