A creepy thriller along the lines of “The Talented Mr Ripley,” Dominik Moll’s Harry gives the talented Sergi Lopez another chance to shine on screen while chilling the audience to the bone.
Michel and Claire (Lucas and Seigner) are a bundle of nerves after driving all day with their three cranky daughters. Then at a rest stop, Michel runs into an old friend Harry (Lopez), whom he hasn’t seen in 20 years … and can’t actually remember. Soon, Harry and his fiancee (Guillemin) invade Michel and Claire’s holiday home. But Harry’s generosity and helpfulness make Michel wonder what he’s up to. Surely it couldn’t be anything nefarious!
The film builds its tone carefully and surely, adding suspicion and doubt to the comic overtones, and making us completely mistrust Harry long before we have any reason to. People just aren’t this nice without a catch! Lopez is perfect in the role, likeable and trustworthy … and yet just a little too bright-eyed. And Lucas matches this perfectly as a man unable to escape the distractions of his family and figure out who he is. Moll’s direction isn’t nearly as subtle or clever as, say, Hitchcock (or even Anthony Minghella), but he keeps the plot moving and us on the edge of our seats. And we never have a clue what will happen next, right up to the chilling conclusion.
