I found this movie on DVD at my public library. First, I read several reviews and, as mixed as they are, I almost decided to skip it. But I relented and spun it up.
On the positive side it is a compelling story. A married couple with a young sight-impaired son live in a chalet in the mountains not far from Grenoble, France. Dad is French, it is where he grew up, mom is German and doesn't speak French well. So they use a "neutral" language at home, English. (Some dialog is in French but the DVD has subtitles.)
Both are authors but he spends much of his awake time renovating the top floor so that can have room for paying tourists. He has a habit of playing loud music while he is working, he says it keeps him calm.
One day as the son and his dog are returning from a walk in the snow he comes upon his dad, bleeding and dead in the snow. When an autopsy is done it reveals a very sharp blow to his head that probably killed him. Was it an accident? Did he just carelessly fall? Or did the only other person at home, his wife, cause his death?
All this happens to open the movie and set up the story. We see law enforcement, lawyers, friends, and a long process to build a case against the wife with lots of innuendo and supposition.
The bad part is that the movie runs well over 2 hours. In many scenes things, like the boy playing piano, or characters just wandering around, dwell too long without moving the plot forward.
I enjoyed it at a certain level but don't rate it very highly. It is a good movie for those who enjoy reading novels and don't mind if things move slowly.
On the positive side it is a compelling story. A married couple with a young sight-impaired son live in a chalet in the mountains not far from Grenoble, France. Dad is French, it is where he grew up, mom is German and doesn't speak French well. So they use a "neutral" language at home, English. (Some dialog is in French but the DVD has subtitles.)
Both are authors but he spends much of his awake time renovating the top floor so that can have room for paying tourists. He has a habit of playing loud music while he is working, he says it keeps him calm.
One day as the son and his dog are returning from a walk in the snow he comes upon his dad, bleeding and dead in the snow. When an autopsy is done it reveals a very sharp blow to his head that probably killed him. Was it an accident? Did he just carelessly fall? Or did the only other person at home, his wife, cause his death?
All this happens to open the movie and set up the story. We see law enforcement, lawyers, friends, and a long process to build a case against the wife with lots of innuendo and supposition.
The bad part is that the movie runs well over 2 hours. In many scenes things, like the boy playing piano, or characters just wandering around, dwell too long without moving the plot forward.
I enjoyed it at a certain level but don't rate it very highly. It is a good movie for those who enjoy reading novels and don't mind if things move slowly.
