Xavier Legrand
L'erede

THE REVIEW

It's truly said that, whenever the main character in a movie accidentally discovers the existence of a secret door in a house, suspense starts to build, foreshadowing a disturbing twist in the plot. Enthusiasts of good cinema will remember that, for example, the protagonist of Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" crossed a threshold that led her into a corridor connecting to the neighboring apartment where the caring neighbors practiced the unhealthy hobby of Satan worship. Instead, in Xavier Legrand's latest film titled "The Heir," it doesn't go that far, yet the discovery is not only unsettling but confirms our belief that extreme evil exists precisely where you least expect it, and anyway, it's as grave as you couldn't have imagined.

But the plot begins in quite another context. The protagonist is Ellias Barnes, a French-Canadian fashion designer rising to prominence in Paris. His latest model show enjoys great success; he has the wind at his back, surrounded by beautiful models also graced by fame. Everything seems to be going well; fashion magazine covers featuring photos from the show are about to be published, when one day, the designer receives news of the sudden death of his father, long residing near Montreal, Quebec.

The two hadn't seen each other in years, and Ellias himself admits he did everything he could, once he left the family, to distinguish himself from his father, who had also divorced the protagonist's mother. Having to handle the post-mortem arrangements alone, the reluctant designer leaves Paris and reaches the provincial town where his father had lived for some time.

Here, he tries to familiarize himself as little as possible with the father's neighbors, as he finds their affectionate memory of the deceased father somewhat incredible. What Barnes will casually discover, rummaging in the apartment's basement, will surpass all his fears about the paternal figure. Because a parent may also be unloved for the extreme severity expressed towards their children (it's known how complicated relationships between parents and children can be), but discovering them to be an unsuspected depraved pedophile cannot help but shock any sane and balanced person. It's too overwhelming a discovery (I won't provide further details not to spoil the viewer's surprise) for Ellias on the eve of the unassuming “daddy's” funeral ceremony.

And Barnes is deeply bewildered to hear, during the funeral oration, a friend of his father pay a deeply moved tribute, describing him as the best possible friend, exceedingly empathetic in difficult times, especially when his own daughter mysteriously disappeared and local searches yielded no concrete results. Indeed, could it be that the girl, like other young ones who never returned home in that area over the years, wasn’t actually that far and was meeting a gruesome end at the hands of an apparently charming, good, and unsuspected bourgeois resident in those parts?

In short, the protagonist of "The Heir" (an intense actor like Marc André Grandin) finds himself in the difficult position of keeping to himself a terrible secret about a burdensome paternal figure, deserving all imaginable disapproval, who managed to create an impeccable public image while with cunning diabolic skill left no trace of his vile vices, at the expense of young victims. For them, police investigations are of no use, nor are potential television programs like "Chi l'ha visto?" They seem to have vanished into thin air, and similarly, hope remains that they left of their own free will and not at the hands of unscrupulous individuals.

After viewing such a film rich in plot twists following the lesson of Hitchcock, the viewer is left with the impression that, often and willingly, the quiet appearance of an environment is the mask of an incredible and distressing reality, crafted by highly unsuspecting people. And perhaps, before opening a secondary door, it is prudent to take precautions to avoid unpleasant surprises...