The Serpent film review

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THE SERPENT

A largely satisfying thriller that is replete with several twists and turns, The Serpent is based on the novel Plender by Ted Lewis, the author of Get Carter. Writer/director Eric Barbier has transposed the action to contemporary Paris with impressive results.

Vincent (Yvan Attal) is a successful photographer with a moody wife who wants out of their marriage. He unwittingly becomes part of a blackmail ring when he is contacted by an old school friend named Plender (Clovis Corillac): unpopular and something of an outsider at school, Pleder has plenty to prove to his old classmate.

Plender soon finds himself welcomed and trusted by Yvan's wife, while Yvan himself spirals deeper and deeper into trouble, with seemingly no way of proving his innocence.

Barbier's script and direction hold everything together nicely for a sizeable chunk of the film's running time. There are hints of Hitchcock here and Chabrol there and Corillac and Attal are both impressive and believable as the hunter and his prey.

However, the final reel undoes some of the good work previously achieved with a denouement that stretches credulity. Nevertheless it is overall a solid and diverting thriller which introduces a couple of well-known French actors that English audiences may be unfamiliar with.

Paul Hurley