How entertaining? ★★★☆☆
Thought provoking? ★★★☆☆ 22 March 2016
A movie review of DISORDER. |
YouTube review:
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“Don’t look at me like that,” Vincent Loreau (Matthias Schoenaerts)
Does just knowing there is a plot twist ruin the movie, because you are concentrating on not being deceived? No ghosts, but there is a similarity between DISORDER and THE SIXTH SENSE, in that you will want to go back and re-watch to re-evaluate. The dreamlike/nightmarish/off-kilter atmosphere is wedded to the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by the lead, Vincent Loreau. Even the brief, brisk action sequences are unusual. (Give director Alice Wincour a blockbuster already.)
Does just knowing there is a plot twist ruin the movie, because you are concentrating on not being deceived? No ghosts, but there is a similarity between DISORDER and THE SIXTH SENSE, in that you will want to go back and re-watch to re-evaluate. The dreamlike/nightmarish/off-kilter atmosphere is wedded to the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by the lead, Vincent Loreau. Even the brief, brisk action sequences are unusual. (Give director Alice Wincour a blockbuster already.)
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We know something is up from the get-go. On army manoeuvres Loreau’s nose starts to bleed; the physical an outward portent to inner trauma. Even his superiors, much to his chagrin, are keen to discharge Vincent. HURT LOCKER-style, he wants to be back in the fray. Even at a veterans’ hospital, the sight of limbless colleagues does not dissuade, the reverse, seemingly to galvanise the myopia/masochism/bravery. Is Loreau suffering also from survivor guilt? Not underestimating audience intelligence, the filmmakers do not fill in the blanks.
An ex-army pal, Denis (Paul Hamy), gets Vincent a gig at a private security firm guarding a party at a swanky mansion, named Maryland. Paranoia demonstrated to the host, Imad Whalid (Percy Kemp), gets Loreau another offer: To protect Imad’s spouse and young son while he is away on business. Jessie (Diane Kruger) may ostensibly appear to be a trophy wife, but she is sufficiently world weary to demonstrate guard and brains. Kruger is proving a nuanced actor (SKY; FAREWELL, MY QUEEN; FRANKIE), defying anyone who buys the stereotype that models are unable to be adroit thespians.
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Of course when you get two good looking people together, there is going to be sexual tension; though here expectation is circumvented – this is not a retread of SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME. Class and racial tensions bubble under the surface of what appears to be a straightforward thriller: Due to Imad’s dealmaking, his family is seemingly placed in harm’s way. That Matthias Schoenaerts is in every scene, everything witnessed from his perspective, belies a pawn’s comprehension of any wider conspiracy.
The sparsity of people give DISORDER a WALKING DEAD post-apocalyptic vibe, which is added to by the background news reports on the television concerning a USA mass shooting and the conflict in Syria – touching on topical tragedies that sometimes feel never ending.
That “chaos” is tattooed on Vincent’s arm is no coincidence.
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