Harry, he's here to help

To be shown: 20 May 2002

France 2000 (subtitles)
112 minutes
Directed by Dominik Moll
Leading players - Sergi Lopez, Sophie Guillemin, Laurent Lucas, Mathilde Seigner.

Synopsis

Michel is fed-up. He is 34, his car is clapped out, he's bored with his marriage, his doting parents irritate him and his job is getting him nowhere. Then one hot day he bumps into Harry at a service station. Harry reminds him they were at school together and, on finding that Michel, his wife and three daughters need help to get to their run-down holiday cottage, he volunteers to give them a lift.
Little by little the rich and charming Harry insinuates himself into the family's life, offering advice and financial assistance. Unfortunately, not all is as it seems.

* * * * * *

This black comedy owes a great deal to Alfred Hitchcock, starting with the lead character's name - he made "The Trouble with Harry" in 1955. Then we have a reference to the consumption of eggs and, later on, Michel, encouraged by Harry who admiringly recalls his contributions to the school magazine, writes a story entitled "Les Oeufs" - Hitchcock loathed eggs, their texture repelled him. Another of his bêtes noires was teeth and we are told about Harry's dental bridge turning black - a thought that would have had The Master squirming.
But it is not merely these and the other movie-buff nuggets buried in the film which remind one of Hitchcock. It is the pacing; the steady rise in tension and suspense from the edgy start, through the inevitable dark deeds at the heart of the story and on to an ending that leaves one anxiously wondering how Michel is going to cope in the future - have his problems really been solved?
This well-crafted, disturbing movie is full of terrific performances and it flows with a very French sense of style and irony.