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The Serpent
Directed by: Eric Barbier Starring: Yvan Attal, Clovis Cornillac, Olga Kurylenko, Simon Abkarian Synopsis: Fashion photographer Vincent (Attal) is going through a stressful divorce with his wife Helene, fighting for custody for his two children. Out of the blue he is targeted for revenge by Plender, an old classmate from Junior High. Through his machinations, Vincent's already troubled life starts to unravel - but why is this happening? Review: Le Serpent is the latest in a long line of intelligent thrillers to come out of our friends across the channel, and I imagine that anyone who enjoyed
Tell No One
will also enjoy this. Unlike that film, however, the audience is clued into Plender's machinations, if not his motives, right from the start. When we do learn the reasons why this is all happening to Vincent, one wonders why Vincent himself didn't put two and two together a lot earlier, but this is a minor quibble in the long run.
Anyone who has seen Rush Hour 3 (yes, I hold my hand up in shame) should recognise Yvan Attal as George the taxi driver - the only funny character in the movie. Here he plays a man struggling to remain civil to his distant wife, who loves his children and gets sucked into a huge quagmire - every time he struggles to get out, he ends up in a deeper mess. Clovis Cornillac is a more experienced actor and brings a lot of menace to the role of Plender as well as a timy amount of vulnerability. Bond fans will welcome the sight of Olga Kurylenko, recently also seen in Hitman , here playing a femme fatale working for Plender. Rounding out the cast is Simon Abkarian as Sam, Vincent's lawyer and friend, who tries to help him sort out this mess. 
Based on a novel by Ted Lewis (who also wrote the source novel for Get Carter), the movie has a strong narrative although it does fall back on some gallic stereotypes (everyone smokes, the police are conceited and/or corrupt) and the ending climaxes in a mano-a-mano scrap in the rain, but overall this is sufficiently original that you won't see some of the twists and turns coming.
Verdict: Strong storyline, good characterisation helps this twisty-turny tale keep the viewer glued and involved in Vincent's fate. 7 Out of 10 (Review by MikeOutWest)
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