Film Reviews

Mark Of An Angel

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Catherine Frot
• Details: France / 95mins (15).

During her son's friend's birthday party, Elsa (Frot) sees a seven-year-old girl, Lola (Cuinn), whom she believes is her daughter, who died in a hospital fire just five days after her birth. Elsa becomes obsessed with Lola: following her home, befriending her parents, Claire (Bonnaire) and Antoine (Yordanoff) Vigneaux, and pretending to be interested in buying their house. However, is Elsa just crazy or is there something in it? She's in the middle of a divorce and her husband wants custody of their son because Elsa "has a history". Of what, we don't know but we're left to assume it's of mental instability. What follows is Elsa's descent into madness… or is it clarity?

Based on a true story, this low-key drama/thriller hopes to have a slow-burning power, building tension upon tension until the big reveal twist at the climax; director Nebbou got the slow-burning part right but the climax leaves a lot to be desired. The film doesn't go anywhere and takes its time getting there. There is one particular scene that earmarks the mishandled climax. With the cleaner hoovering downstairs, Claire finds Elsa in Lola's room (how she got in without being spotted isn't explained) looking for a hair for a DNA test. They attack each other but then Nebbou cuts away to Claire appearing on the stairs with blood trickling down her nose and asking the cleaner to leave. What happened? Who won the fight? Where did Elsa go? It's shoddy directing, but it's a warning for what's to come.

Review by Gavin Burke