THE FLICK Screenwriters Pieter Van Hess and Dimitri Karakatsanis try to jolt the Belgian horror industry alive with Left Bank, a film which finds itself completely successful in creating three dimensional characters and a realistic world but completely fails at it's core objective: scary the bejesus out of the audience. Marie (Eline Kuppens) is an aspiring track star on her way to the European Championships. The only thing standing in her way is her body, exhausted and rebelling against her. When the doctor tells her to take a month off, she moves in with new boyfriend Bobby (Matthias Schoenaerts) in Left Bank. What she doesn't know is the former tenant of their apartment mysteriously disappeared. Nor does she know the entire building is built on a cult's sacred ground.
At least the first hour of this 102 minute movie-maybe more-is entirely devoted to plot exposition, showing who Marie and Bobby are, how their relationship works and getting the audience to buy into the character as real people. And that part works like gangbusters particularly because Van Hess and Karakatsanis take their time with the information. These scenes have nothing at all to do with demons or sacrifices or horror, outside of a brief sequence at the outset. It is all relationship and character building, setting the audience up for the inevitable twist in the second half. If we don't care about the people and see them only as pawns moved around the board, then what's the point in even watching the film? The writers know there isn't one. We see how Bobby ingratiates himself to Marie's mother. He's a suave talker, good looking...the kind of guy you immediately feel comfortable with even if you shouldn't. Their relationship builds organically, including a very steamy sexual encounter.
Thrown into all of this is the beginning of the horror story, dropped in very carefully and almost too obtusely. Left Bank isn't a typical scary movie where the terror comes fast and furiously, bloodily and with lots of screaming. Instead, it comes in small hints, like a box for the previous tenant referencing Cellar 51 or her boyfriend Dirk (Tom De Wispelaere), whom Marie begins to spend more and more time with. The black powder Marie finds in her panties...the same powder which mysteriously moves under the door of Cellar 51...her mother's claim something evil is happening...flashes to the building's location before it was built...they all slowly build on one another, daring the audience to care about it instead of the people.
And then Left Bank gets lost in a sea of terrible editing, even worse scripting and complete absurdity. Starting with a series of flashes for Marie which make her see any number of people, locations and time periods without explaining any of them and dovetailing into a nebulous cult-like group never given a purpose or meaning, it feels as though the people at the controls scrambled to come up with some kind of story to fit into the world they'd created. But first, the editing. It is imperative in film-but especially a story where the character uncovers information at the same time as the audience-to progress from A to B to C in a logical, thoughtful manner. It's not necessary to show every little step, but to have gaps in the story is inexcusable. At one point, Marie's mother dies without any kind of explanation. There isn't an investigation, no mention of it or footage showing it happen. We're left to assume, from one scene to the next, who is on the morgue slab because the characters are never going to tell us. Or the Bobby's archer group, the same one his father was leader of. What does the story tell us about them? Nothing of any use. We never get to see him interact with them, yet they're supposed to be the "bad guy" in the end? Lip service is paid to some history throughout the story, though nothing of major interest is ever mentioned.
While we're talking a bit about the editing, I want to skip to the finale. No, there won't be any spoilers per se. I'll only mention the final five minutes or so are written and cobbled together so poorly it's impossible to have any idea what the endgame really is. An alternate dimension? A dream? Death and rebirth? Left Bank is so happy to take its sweet time getting there is never bothers to explain any of it with any clarity. That's the problem throughout the story: clarity. Nothing is at all transparent or easy to see. Heck, most of what the audience needs to follow along to the finale isn't there or conveniently left out in the interest of creating a mystery. A mystery, by the way, Marie isn't smart enough to figure out until its too late.
She's perhaps the most maddening character in the film (next to her mother, which I'll explain in a minute). Movies don't take place in a vacuum. That much has been said to death by any number of people. In effect, if you're trying to make a realistic movie set in the real world, then you have to make your characters real. Kuppens isn't the problem, a mix of strength and vulnerability, very much open to anything the film throws at her, clothed or naked, physical, passive or dialogue. Marie simply isn't very smart. Move in with a man you barely know? Go snooping around in the basement of a building you know nothing about? Seeing visions of people, babies, places and not doing a whole lot about them? Having a bum knee continually getting worse and applying pressure in the form of running, walking and even sex? And arguably the worst: finally understanding something very wrong is going on but not leaving? For Mom's part, she lets her daughter move in with Bobby. Why do movie characters-specifically horror characters-not learn from the films they've seen?
Van Hess is unable to create any sense of tension or terror for the entirety of Left Bank. Two scenes at the beginning do successfully establish the mood and are appropriately creepy, but no one follows up on them for far too long. The terror aspect fails to come into play; it's as if the script doesn't know how to blend the exposition and the horror. Initially, at least, a production along the lines of Dark Water is in the cards. The Jennifer Connelly remake captured both the elements, combining them into something scary while realistic. Left Bank is unable to do the same, dividing its story as if to say "okay, we're done setting up the situation" instead of learning how to do both at the same time. By providing only very minor elements related to the finale (and none with any clarification), the audience tends to forget about the real driving motivation. What would Jaws be if the story didn't check in with the shark-literally, as in seeing the shark attacks-every once in a while? That's how tension is built: by showing everyone involved what they should be scared about.
THE LOOK The anamorphic transfer smartly retains the intended grainy look of the film, automatically creating a dank and horror-ish vibe. On top of that, the usual dingy, off-color feel of foreign films is at full effect, further helping Left Bank take its place within the genre. And the rest of the film? Free of blemishes with very good blacks, shadows and fleshtones. Marie's "flashes" to other times and places are rendered with care as well. One segment has a 35mm, black and white look to it along with all the accompanying pops, scratches and defects. And when the story chooses to showcase shots of desaturated beaches, the picture becomes high contrast, with sand lines turning black against a sea of dirty white.
THE SOUND Since this film comes from Belgium, it stands to reason the only audio track on the disc is a Dutch 5.1 mix. Just like the video specs, it is clean and clear of defects, helping to create a realistic world. Throughout the piece-but especially in the beginning-the sound designers successfully block out and layer different effects, increasing the tension as we hear Marie's breathing overpower everything, for example. The soundtrack comes alive in isolated moments in the second half, with the score culminating in a large crescendo to punctuate the story. Above all, the balance between dialogue, sound effects, soundtrack and other elements doesn't push one on top of another. English and Spanish subtitles are included.
THE STUFF Left Bank is released by IFC Films in a black keepcase without an insert. There are 18 chapters in the film, accessible from the main menu. At startup, trailers for other IFC titles automatically play (note: they are not available from the Special Features sub-menu). They are Fermat's Room, The Skeptic, Fear(s) of the Dark and How To Be.
The only bonus feature of note on the disc is a selection of deleted scenes (15:35). Available only in a "Play All" feature, they are a mix of alternate cuts, extended scenes and wholly deleted material. None would help the narrative in any meaningful way, especially in the second half of the film. Most are standard character pieces which would have only served to extend the already meandering exposition. An English-language trailer (1:02) is also included.
Linkeroever (Left Bank)
Unrated
