A woman disappears in the snowy mountains of France – and it’s her death that links several people together in the very dramatic French film ‘Only the Animals.’
The opening shot in this film is of a black man with a goat on his back riding a bike through the streets of Abidjan, then the film quickly moves to France. But the goat scene is a metaphor for when, later in the film, a man (Damian Bonnard) carries a woman’s dead body, on his back, in the mountains to find her a final resting place. But who is this dead woman?
It’s the journey to get there that’s extremely intriguing where we discover the link between several people. Alice (Laure Balamy) is a social worker who checks on people in and around her area. One of her clients is Joseph, who she’s also having sex with. Her husband Michel (Denis Ménochet), meanwhile, is having an online love affair with attractive young woman Marion (Nadia Tereskzkiewicz). But she’s actually a gang of men in Adijban who are scamming Michel for a lot of money. But the woman whose photo he is sent by these men does actually exist and coincidentally winds up near his village.
Why is she there?
Because she is tracking down Evelyn Ducat (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), a very well-to-do attractive woman she met at the restaurant where she works, and after a brief affair between them, Marion wants more. But as the story winds up, and the drama and tension builds, we soon discover who the dead woman is, and how her death will change all of the characters lives.
‘Seules Les Betes (Only the Animals)‘, directed and co-written by Dominik Moll, based on the novel by Colin Niel, is engrossing from start to finish.
Each character’s thread is enough to give the viewer bits and pieces to the story, without giving to much away. It’s the intertwining of the characters lives that is unique and clever, with excellent acting. And while a couple of the connections between the characters are a bit too easy, Only the Animals will keep you engrossed for all of its two-hour running time.
‘Only the Animals’ is exclusively now available on Curzon Home Cinema.
