Happy End

If Michael Haneke should die before he wakes, I pray the Lord his soul to take, along with this half-baked sequel to his magnificent Amour (2012).

From its ingenious start to the nifty end, Haneke brings the viewers a full circle to this significant truth.

The film remains interesting, if not particularly eye-opening, until it reveals how the characters are related. Then it becomes the sort of sardonic chronicle of upper-middle-class discontentment that Claude Chabrol did better with less portentousness.

Beautifully photographed, well composed, but disappointingly superficial.

Haneke modus operandi is to withhold information from the audience for as long as possible, forcing us to do our own investigative work. His admirers will no doubt rise to the challenge and should be amply rewarded.

Formally Happy End is a crafty piece of work, but as a social critic Haneke is less convincing than ever.

Even retreading old content would be fine if Haneke went about it in an interesting way, but Happy End seems to be on formal autopilot...

It's the late Trintignant who steals the show. His scene with young Harduin is so good. Bleak in the assessment of our present society which is grooming a generation that lacks empathy, Happy End is in line with other great Haneke films & just as strong.

Happy End is not a pleasant experience, but it's a rich one upon close examination.

All the performances are top notch but Trintignant and Harduin keep things interesting in a story that feels unfocused.