'Le Serpent' certainly starts well: a smart, stylish thriller with an intriguing set up and a skillful use of changes of pace. The cast are all excellent; and the cinematography captures a picture of modern, commercial Paris, not exactly run down but cold and devoid of charm. But for all its promise, it can't escape its generic (and essentially uninteresting) premise: that of one man pitted against an all-powerful psychopath, who cares about nothing except ruining the hero (but who eventually, to his own cost, prefers talking about his crimes to finishing them off). There are some similarities to 'Tell No One', another classy but ultimately implausible story.
Review of The Snake
