Film Reviews

Lemming

• Rating:
• Director: Dominic Moll
• Starring: Charlotte Gainsbourg
• Details: France, 129mins, 15s.

When high-flying engineer Alain Getty (Lucas) invites his boss Richard Pollock (Dussollier) and his wife Alice (Rampling) to his house for dinner it turns out to be a fiasco. Alice's abrasive and embarrassing behaviour puts the kibosh on the evening and the couple leave. A few days later, Alice arrives at Alain's office and comes onto him but Alain, eventually, pushes her away. The next day Alice makes her way to Alain's house and, after telling his meek wife Benedicte (Gainsbourg) what happened between her and Alain, Alice goes upstairs for a lie down and blows her brains out. This sparks off a series of events that will change everyone concerned forever. Following Cache's Hitchcockian influence, Lemming is an enthralling piece of cinema that will keep you glued to the screen, thinking 'where can this go?' Down the darkest recesses of your soul, that's where, as Lemming mixes a little noir into proceedings too. Lemming addresses the nightmarish situation of a man watching helplessly as he loses his wife to an older, more powerful man and the insanity that follows. The acting is as real as it gets and Rampling, again, is the standout. Although she is only in the first half-hour, Rampling's powerful presence and considerable thespian weight is felt throughout. Writer-director Moll (Harry, He's Here To Help, Intimacy) has the talent to create such a foreboding atmosphere and tension in everyday situations and the audience feels on edge even when there is no reason to be.

Review by Gavin Burke