By: Jack Blackwell. An ambitious film, spanning five main characters, several flashbacks and two continents, but never pretentious. In this “Trapped” spin-off, police duo Andri and Hinrika investigate a murder in the remote highlands when a spiritual group and a … But does Alice’s grumpy husband Michel (Denis Ménochet) know anything about it? The world's defining voice in music and pop culture since 1952. Only the Animals review – icy and elegant murder mystery. … When animal species all over the world begin attacking humans, controversial zoologist Jackson Oz tries to discover the cause of the sudden change. This is a review for all eight episodes. This review is based on the first five episodes of the Netflix series. Recommended. Some of. 2015 | TV-14 | 3 Seasons | TV Dramas. While Tereszkiewicz’s depiction of the callow, lovesick young adult we have all been is heartbreaking. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Netflix UK film review: Only the Animals (Seules Les Bêtes) In Lozère, France’s least populous department, in the south near the Massif Central, a well-to-do middle-aged married woman, Evelyne Ducat (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), has disappeared, her car found abandoned by an isolated snowy road. Meanwhile, prominent Parisian Evelyne (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) has gone missing on the plateau, with only her abandoned car offering any clues as to her whereabouts. Netflix Netflix. Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. This is not a movie for those feeling the effects of isolation. Starring: James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Nonso Anozie. Share. 29/08/2019 | Venice 2019 | Giornate degli Autori. Well, our new lord and savior Netflix is providing just such a potential phenomenon on March 20, in the form of a seven-part true-crime documentary called Tiger King. With any story that opts to unravel its narrative in non-linear fashion, the question inevitably arises as to whether it would be just as involving if told in a conventional manner. 4 out of 5 stars. 31 May 2020. Synopsis: A woman disappeared. We first meet Alice (, Moll then takes us back in time to the first meeting between Evelyne and Marion (, I won't reveal any more plot details, as half the fun of Moll's film comes from receiving the narrative nuggets he gradually feeds us. In this stop-motion short film, a bird raised by mice begins to question where she belongs and sets off on a daring journey of self-discovery. Copy link. And why is he so keen to sit in his farmyard office and miss dinner? 4 out of 5 stars. by Vittoria Scarpa. After a short, lively opening scene in which a goat is transported through Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on a man’s back, we’re transported to Causse Méjean, a rural plateau in southern France caught in the grip of a snowy winter. Damien Bonnard in Only the Animals “When you’re in love, nothing bad can happen to you”. When animals around the world start to seemingly communicate with each other in what looks like an uprising against humans, a team is created to get to the bottom of the anomaly. Director Dominik Moll Starring Denis Ménochet Laure Calamy Damien Bonnard UK release date 29 May 2020. Yet the technique has never really gone away. Zoo. In 1997, Quentin Tarantino made Jackie Brown – arguably his best film – using similar techniques. While Moll’s film isn’t as revelatory as Rashomon or as stylishly accomplished as Gone Girl, he’s still crafted an engaging, well-acted drama out of Colin Niel’s source novel. Forgot your password? 100 Best Movies on Netflix, Ranked by Tomatometer (April 2021) In our world of massive entertainment options, who’s got time to waste on the below-average? Moll breaks his film up into distinct chapters, each focussed on a specific character, as he dismantles his narrative by moving back and forth through its timeline, dishing out information and clues in a manner that keeps us on our toes for the bulk of its running time. I'm not entirely sure that Moll's … N’Drin unexpectedly evokes sympathy as he falls foul of bad luck, love and his poor life choices. Only the Animals is a film directed by Dominik Moll with Denis Menochet, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Laure Calamy, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Damien Bonnard .... Year: 2019. Filmmakers have enlivened their action using different character perspectives on the same events since iconic Japanese director Akira Kurosawa made Rashomon in 1950. Ménochet, who gave a masterclass in malevolence during 2017’s Custody and will soon be seen in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, is first-rate. Only the Animals doesn't just unravel a mystery, or several, but also recognises that sometimes enigmas and uncertainties arise simply because different things clash together and no one … Watch later. The murder case concerns an attractive woman, played by the wonderful actress Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, who occupies a country retreat in a thinly populated rural area of France. With its snowy setting, murder and intrigue, Only the Animals has the air of a French Fargo. Creators: Scott Rosenberg, André Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, Jeff Pinkner. If that still doesn’t sound creepy enough, then Benedikt Schiefer’s brooding score will help to exacerbate the dark deeds on screen. Nevertheless, Only the Animals remains a highly satisfying and gripping thriller that, like the best of them, finds the time to properly contemplate the depths of its dominoes as they are arranged before the capricious hand of chance gleefully knocks them down, one by one. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. It’s weird, entertaining, and satisfying as every piece of the puzzle falls into place. Info. Each narrative is connected to the murder of a French woman during a snow storm in rural France. French director Dominik Moll makes use of multiple character perspectives to spin a twisting tale of murder and intrigue. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Lovers of friendly, fluffy creatures lured in by the suggestion of this French thriller’s English title are set for a grim surprise. There's a lot about The Irregulars that shouldn't work. Indeed, the sobriety is like a cloak for the weirdness beneath the surface. As for humans in director Dominik Moll’s foreign language puzzler, well, one is murdered, another takes their own life and all struggle with unrequited love, greed or temptation. Animals review – untamed female friendship drama is a Sundance triumph Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat play best friends facing conflict in a … Eventually, we swap again to follow Marion (Nadia Tereszkiewicz), a beautiful waitress who becomes obsessed with Evelyne after they embark on a short but passionate affair. © 2021 NME is a member of the media division of BandLab Technologies. You’ve got a subscription, you’re ready for a marathon, and you want only the best movies no Netflix to watch. Only The Animals features a bunch of interconnecting narratives spanning across France and Cameroon. Alice, played by Laure Calamy from acclaimed Netflix series Call My Agent!, is a farmer’s wife who sells insurance to – and is having an affair with – Joseph (Damien Bonnard, fresh from energetic urban reworking Les Misérables). Review: Only the Animals. Zoo is a science-fiction drama, with the emphasis on 'fiction' as it slowly becomes more ludicrous with each episode. Glum Joseph is still grieving the loss of his mother the year before, but evidently has other, newer worries on his mind too. The Irregulars' first season premieres Friday, March 26 on Netflix. Original title: Seules les bêtes. After watching events unfold from Alice’s point of view, we learn more as the film takes on Joseph’s narrative. I've always found this a mute point, as sometimes the tale is simply in the telling. On … A group of strangers on two separate continents share a connection to the disappearance of a woman in rural France. Damien Bonnard in ‘Only The Animals’. This becomes clear in its dying scenes, by which point we've been granted all the exact details of the mystery at hand and the film has nowhere left to go. Only the Animals / Seules les bêtes (2019) - Trailer. Netflix's Barbarians is a rather stable and safe look back at the defeat of the Romans during the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Credit: Curzon Artificial Eye. In 2014, David Fincher kept audiences guessing with his atmospheric mystery thriller Gone Girl. Only the Animals’ slyly intelligent structure sees each of the five characters exposed one at a time, preventing the story from playing out chronologically. Watch all … JOIN NOW SIGN IN. Dominik Moll returns with a playful, opaque and compellingly tangled murder mystery. Shopping. There are just two animals with any screen time worth mentioning in Only The Animals, and one of those is shot dead. Film, Thrillers. |, January 21, 2021 Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service. Tap to unmute. Time Out says. After a snowstorm, her car is discovered on a road to a small remote village. There’s also a Scandi-noir flavour to the aesthetic, so it’s no surprise to learn that Moll also directed two episodes of The Tunnel, the British-French remake of Swedish TV hit The Bridge. 31 May 2020. Only the Animals. Lovers of friendly, fluffy creatures lured in by the suggestion of this French thriller’s English title are set for a grim surprise. You're signed out. VENICE 2019: Opening the 16th Giornate degli Autori, the sixth film by Dominik Moll is a well-constructed thriller which surprisingly brings together two distant worlds . If you want an enthralling murder mystery to capture your attention during this lockdown period, I suggest Only the Animals, an intriguing and unexpected French thriller. Review: Only the Animals. Finally, we dig into the life of Armand (Guy Roger N’Drin), a con artist in Abidjan who has his own romantic problems. Only the Animals is impressively deliberate and sober in style. Only the Animals revolves around the mysterious disappearance of Evelyne Ducat ( Valeria Bruni Tedeschi ) in a remote French farming community on the night of a nasty snowstorm. Entrapped. Moll's narrative trickery might have come across as superficial were it not for the talented ensemble cast he's assembled here, featuring some of France's less starry but most under-rated performers, along with the great Italian actress Tedeschi, who is undergoing something of a relatively late blossoming in recent years. French writer-director Dominik Moll's latest thriller opened up this year's Venice Days sidebar. Only the Animals is thematically rich enough to keep us involved had Moll simply dished everything out in a straightforward style, but there's no doubt that the time-travelling teasing out of its details is its greatest strength. 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