In Lille, Claire Gauthier is an ordinary married woman with a young daughter that works in an insurance company analyzing losses of insured properties. When the single veterinary Laurent ... See full summary »
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In Lille, Claire Gauthier is an ordinary married woman with a young daughter that works in an insurance company analyzing losses of insured properties. When the single veterinary Laurent Kessler claims damage in his basement caused by a flooding due to water leakage, Claire resolves the situation favorably for him. The weird Laurent visits Claire in her office successively, inviting her for drinks and lunch, and they get close to each other. Meanwhile, a serial killer is terrorizing Lille, killing women with a scalpel. Claire feels a great attraction for Laurent, who has an unusual behavior in her apartment. When Claire sees a scalpel in the pocket of Laurent's jacket, she fears him, but still loves him. Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In the last confrontation between Claire and Laurent, his right hand grips Claire's throat when seen from his POV, but when the shot is from behind Claire, his right hand is free. See more »
Quotes
Valérie:
Gee, at times I feel like I'm in a cult!
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Anne Fontaine's disappointing Entre Ses Mains aka In His Hands is one of those films you've seen long before you actually watch it because it's been made by people who've seen too many films and think the best way to create a classic is to homage one somebody else made earlier to death. In this case the victim is Claude Chabrol's Le Boucher, relocated from a small village to a very metropolitan Lille, with Jean Yanne's butcher and possible serial killer and Stephane Audran's schoolteacher who falls in love with him reworked into Benoit Poelvoorde's insomniac vet prone to depression and Isabelle Carré's insurance claims adjuster. There are a few new wrinkles added to the mix Carré's character is happily married but still drifts into a near-affair in spite of her doubts and it's easy to see why the actors were attracted to the film since it places the emphasis firmly on the characters and performances rather than the thriller plot. Poelvoorde in particular is excellent, doing a Robin Williams to shake off his comic persona to reveal something more damaged underneath (although he had ventured into serial killer territory long before Williams with Man Bites Dog). There is one genuinely suspenseful sequence prior to the film's murder scene as well as a neat bit of business with a bloodstained cat, but once you make the Chabrol connection you know exactly where this is headed. Unfortunately in the intervening 25 years that particular road has become very well travelled and Fontaine and her co-writer Julien Boivent certainly haven't made any improvements. Including a scene where Poelvoorde invites Carré to watch him operate on a sleeping lion only makes you realise that they really liked Manhunter as well It's not terrible by any means, just terribly familiar.
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Anne Fontaine's disappointing Entre Ses Mains aka In His Hands is one of those films you've seen long before you actually watch it because it's been made by people who've seen too many films and think the best way to create a classic is to homage one somebody else made earlier to death. In this case the victim is Claude Chabrol's Le Boucher, relocated from a small village to a very metropolitan Lille, with Jean Yanne's butcher and possible serial killer and Stephane Audran's schoolteacher who falls in love with him reworked into Benoit Poelvoorde's insomniac vet prone to depression and Isabelle Carré's insurance claims adjuster. There are a few new wrinkles added to the mix Carré's character is happily married but still drifts into a near-affair in spite of her doubts and it's easy to see why the actors were attracted to the film since it places the emphasis firmly on the characters and performances rather than the thriller plot. Poelvoorde in particular is excellent, doing a Robin Williams to shake off his comic persona to reveal something more damaged underneath (although he had ventured into serial killer territory long before Williams with Man Bites Dog). There is one genuinely suspenseful sequence prior to the film's murder scene as well as a neat bit of business with a bloodstained cat, but once you make the Chabrol connection you know exactly where this is headed. Unfortunately in the intervening 25 years that particular road has become very well travelled and Fontaine and her co-writer Julien Boivent certainly haven't made any improvements. Including a scene where Poelvoorde invites Carré to watch him operate on a sleeping lion only makes you realise that they really liked Manhunter as well It's not terrible by any means, just terribly familiar.