Trouble

Please do not mention Hitchcock!The Master knew that without a solid screenplay it's a waste of breath.All those "modern" French thrillers suffer from approximative vague scripts.The directors think that special effects ,disturbing music (here very Chabrolesque),and an ominous soundtrack can make the job done.Spice with uninspired flashbacks and nightmares .Add some sex.Serve tepid.

Benoit Magimel is too limited an actor to suggest two different personalities (Jeremy Irons he is definitely not).Even the final trick is not new.It was invented by Sacha Guitry half a century before.And whereas "trouble" takes finally the easy way out ,the 1953 film did not give the audience any answer.

Like this?Try these ....

"Dead ringers" David Cronenberg 1988 Irons and his twin

"Dead ringer" Paul Henreid 1965 Bette Davis and her twin (2)

"Toi Le Venin" Robert Hossein 1958 Marina Vlady and Odile Versois

"La Vie d'Un Honnête Homme "Sacha Guitry 1953 Michel Simon and his twin.

"A stolen life "Curtis Bernardt 1951 Bette Davis and her twin.

"The dark mirror" Robert Siodmak 1946 Olivia de Havilland and her twin.

I recently saw this film as part of the Cinemuerte Horror Film Festival in Vancouver, on the closing night, and it was a great way to wrap up the final year of that particular festival.

"Trouble" is one of those thrillers that you wouldn't want to give away too much about, suffice it to say that the main character, Matyas, is a photographer with a wife and adolescent kid, who one day discovers that he has a twin brother! The film has elements of Hitchcock and Cronenberg, and is well shot and acted, and well paced. Even the music lends an element of tension to the way things unfold in the film. You easily get caught up in Matyas' circumstances, and his slow, gradual revealing of his murky past as a child, and how his twin, Thomas, figures into that.

A great Euro thriller! Hopefully, it'll arrive in North America soon on DVD, or in theatres. Definitely worth checking out.