There's skulduggery afoot in this fun and twist-filled French psychodrama.
Nathalie (Laure Calamy) has her living situation suddenly uprooted and decides to make first contact with her absent, wealthy, and frail father, Serge Dumontet (Jacques Weber). Serge welcomes Nathalie into the family home, where she is introduced to her new family: Serge's eccentric spendaholic wife, Louise (Dominique Blanc), and his daughters, teenager Jeanne (Céleste Brunnquell) and the extremely unwelcoming George (Doria Tillier), who is rightfully suspicious of her newfound sister.
From here, there are twists aplenty as we get to know Nathalie and the Dumontet family. You'll start to wonder who exactly you should be rooting for - certainly not Serge, a manipulative patriarch of Logan Roy proportions. In fact, the Succession supremo is almost likeable compared to his French counterpart. As the plot unfurls itself, revealing just how conniving Serge is, why Nathalie is so uneasy, and how her incarcerated girlfriend is connected to this, the true picture slots satisfyingly into place.
The Origin of Evil is slightly camp and tongue-in-cheek with a touch of soap opera (in the best possible way). Fans of Call My Agent! will not be surprised to see Laure Calamy continue to impress in the lead role, holding the story together with her nervous energy. The jangly 'Giallo-esque' score and the delightfully ghastly set design of the Dumontet family - the eclectic results of Louise's retail obsession - provide a fascinating backdrop for the figurative backstabbing that takes place.
The running time is a little longer than required, but thankfully this deliciously sordid tale wraps up without overstaying its welcome. Enthralling entertainment.
