Trouble Every Day (Gargoyle) (2001)

44% of critics liked it
(45 reviews)
63% of users liked it
(2,199 ratings)

Two strangers share a strange and terrible bond in this stylish horror tale that juggles sex and graphic bloodshed. Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo) is a strange man with a forbidding nature who has just married lovely but nervous June (Tricia Vessey), and they've decided to go to Paris for their… More Two strangers share a strange and terrible bond in this stylish horror tale that juggles sex and graphic bloodshed. Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo) is a strange man with a forbidding nature who has just married lovely but nervous June (Tricia Vessey), and they've decided to go to Paris for their honeymoon. In the City of Lights, a beautiful but dangerous woman named Core (Beatrice Dalle) has been leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake when she's captured by Leo Semeneau (Alex Descas), a mysterious scientist who spirits her away to his estate. As Core is placed under guard, Semeneau leaves to return to the city for an unnamed assignment; we soon learn that one of Shane's reasons for coming to Paris was to find him and retrieve some important information. In time, we also discover that Shane and Core have something rather unusual in common -- both are murderous cannibals who regularly feast on the flesh of their victims, and Semeneau's information may hold the key to the secret behind their deadly appetite. Trouble Every Day generated a certain amount of controversy in its screenings at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where a number of patrons walked out in disgust at the film's intense blend of sensuality and cannibalism. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Claire Denis
Written By: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Genres: Drama, Horror, Art House & International

In Theaters: Jul 11, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Apr 26, 2005
Studio: Lot 47 Films

Critic Reviews

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
Denis is an extraordinarily reticent storyteller.
Chris Fujiwara, Boston Globe
Trouble Every Day is a success in some sense, but it's hard to like a film so cold and dead.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Here the love scenes all end in someone screaming. Maybe there's a metaphor here, but figuring it out wouldn't make Trouble Every Day any better.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
Watching Trouble Every Day, at least if you don't know what's coming, is like biting into what looks like a juicy, delicious plum on a hot summer day and coming away with your mouth full of rotten pulp and living worms.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
A hysterical yet humorless disquisition on the thin line between sucking face and literally sucking face.
John Anderson, Newsday
... a film that is profoundly disturbing, yet hauntingly unforgettable.
Alan Simpson, Sex Gore Mutants
an interesting art house sideline to the cannibal genre
Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
A uniquely sensual metaphorical dramatization of sexual obsession that spends a bit too much time on its fairly ludicrous plot.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Vincent Gallo is right at home in this French shocker playing his usual bad boy weirdo role.
Jon Lap, Apollo Guide
The film is an odd little piece, one in which its malaise disposition persists to engender the cinematic thrill that subcultural viewers hope for.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
A tone poem of transgression.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

_kelly .

Minimal dialogue, a film that tells its story with images instead. At first the pacing and cinematography were hypnotizing, but an hour in, the slowness was effecting my viewing experience. It's clearly a very visually calculated movie, and obviously wants to be considered art… More
Minimal dialogue, a film that tells its story with images instead. At first the pacing and cinematography were hypnotizing, but an hour in, the slowness was effecting my viewing experience. It's clearly a very visually calculated movie, and obviously wants to be considered art house. Due to the minimal dialogue and articulate angles, this movie causes some plot ambiguity that I hoped would not be frustrating, that it would all sort of come together in the end and that acute observation could carry the bulk of the film. It does to an extent, but still too many relationships are left unexplained and there are some disposable characters that simply muddle the story. The main thing I longed for was some more revelation about the dynamic between Dr. Leo and Dr. Brown. The Coré character is chilling, and she certainly makes this fit in a "horror" mode, though it is primarily an art house mystery that emphasizes sex and sensuality with its many flesh-on-flesh closeups. "Most Fucked Up" highlight: Coré at work on the "boy next door", Gallo's character (Dr.Brown) literally eats pussy "New Wave French Horror": this is more an extreme cinema/art house film than horror, but the gory scenes and cannibalistic subject qualify it
Anthony L

Not Vincent Gallo at his best but Claire Denis?s direction is. It?s a bit slow (or atmospheric) to get started and It?s a bit disturbing but stick with it, you?ll be glad you did!
Hassan V

Haunting, Sexy and Terrifying with great reserved art direction and a shivering soundtrack by Tindersticks.
Mike T

Claire Denis exercises brilliant directorial control in this brooding, deeply shocking film. The pacing of the story disarms the audience, so that when it reaches its gruesome climax we feel it on a physical level. Beatrice Dalle is terrifying in her limited amount of screen time, and… More
Claire Denis exercises brilliant directorial control in this brooding, deeply shocking film. The pacing of the story disarms the audience, so that when it reaches its gruesome climax we feel it on a physical level. Beatrice Dalle is terrifying in her limited amount of screen time, and Vincent Gallo is extremely convincing and understated. A beautifully made film that achieves a strong sense of atmosphere and tension. The score by Tindersticks is outstanding too. One of my favorite films from 2001.