Only the Animals

audience Reviews

, 80% Audience Score
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    I really liked this - it's very clever https://uberscaryblog.blogspot.com/2021/06/im-here-to-see-papa-sanou.html
  • Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    I should've watched this one sooner. Then again, I would'nt have had the great pleasure of seeing it tonight. What an impressive piece of writing and directing by Dominik Moll. The screenplay by Moll, along with Gilles Marchand and Colin Neil, is an intricate tightrope to walk, with its convoluted connections of characters, time, and actions. It's a film about the dangers of deception and infidelities, of the desperation that poverty and desires can push us into, and those who are hurt in the crossfire. Moll keeps things tight and flowing with an incredibly deft skill in pacing and well-realized characters . We come to know each of the main figures just well enough that we feel the authenticity of their emotional reactions and can appreciate the actions they take out of their desperate straits; out their perception of those they are using or those they desire most. But no one is safe in "Only the Animals". The victims and the victimizers are hurting, but their efforts to relieve that pain are misguided, or outright criminal. But sense when does clouded judgement or impulsive emotional reaction lead us to rational, mature actions? The acting is superior in general. Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Laure Calamu. Denis Menochet, and Nadia Tereszkiewic are especially good. And Damien Bonnard is convincing as a man in his own arrested development; frozen in a static state of loss and isolation. The Robbe-Grillet-esque manner in which the characters are so intertwined like some network of actions and reactions, continually surprises and explains when/why/how what we've seen already went down. One choice, one sudden impulse, one calculated act triggers another, with unfortunate results and no happy resolutions. Damn nice work, Moll, writers, and cast. 3.8 stars
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    Incredibly well written!!! I watched it because appeared listed in the best thrillers section of the golden tomatoes 2021, it was the last one but at least for me is the best one in the list, Titane and Azor were good and interesting but this one is soooo good! If you are a thriller junkie you''ll love this film!!!
  • Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    Riveting French film which centres around a woman who has gone missing and explores the stories of the five people linked to her disappearance. Really well written and acted by the ensemble cast. Engaging from the start with some genuine surprises mixed into the story. Well worth checking out.
  • Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    The best film I've seen for 2021, hands down. Well scripted and acted, a touch of Cohen Bros, a taste of irony and some suspense thrown in. Well done. And granted, it didn't take a whole lot to be the best movie of 2021 (I know it's from 2020 but I just saw it so it's new to me) but leave it to a French film to kick the butts of the mindless, copy cat Americans who seem wholly committed to just making the same film over and over for 5 decades in every genre. Script on this is solid, acting was super good. They didn't feel obligated to jam in hyper cool music to appease the hipsters, didn't need big name celebrities or any kind of crazy special effects. Just a talented writer, talented director, a great script and some talented actors. That's all it takes, Hollywood. Remember back when you used to follow the same formula back before you just started making lowest common denominator drivel with zero creativity or originality? Americans, take note. This is how you make a solid film.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    The best film ever saw. Everything ties in and works together so perfectly.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    So pleased to find this gem of a movie. So good on so many levels. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    I loved this film. Simple enough subject matter, but keeps you hooked as to what is going to happen next. Really really great.