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POISON FRIENDS Send This Review to a Friend
A French film of special interest, “Poison Friends,” was among the superior works showcased at the 2006 New York Film Festival, and it is currently getting a well-deserved commercial release. Directed by Emmanuel Bourdieu and scripted by him and Marcia Romano, it is a study of entwined relationships at a university. It is remarkable in the psychological probing of its central character and delineating the emotional fallout for him and his classmates.
Thibault Vinçon plays André, who has convinced other students that he is brilliant. He flaunts his intellect and feeds his ego by manipulating them. He is at once destructive, but also in a perverse way helpful in some respects, yet there are some jolting scenes in which one can feel the pain he causes.
The students become susceptible to his superior attitude that challenges them to do better. But André’s pressuring turns out to be cruel in many respects, and he is ultimately revealed to be far from what he pretends to be, which gives the film a twist that propels it toward its ultimate intriguing ending. It is a tribute to Vinçon’s acting that he can evoke a measure of pity when he is unmasked.
The ambiance of the film is impressive and some aspects of the story reminded me of the destructiveness in Claude Chabrol’s 1959 film “The Cousins.” All of the acting in “Poison Friends” is excellent, including by cast members Malik Zidi, Alexandre Steiger and Natacha Régnier, resulting in a collection of revealing character portrayals. This is among the best of the recent French imports to come our way. A Strand Releasing release.
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