The Origin of Evil

[An] enjoyably pulpy, devious, Highsmith-esque thriller in which nothing and nobody are quite what they seem.

Without a doubt this is easy entertainment, never dull, and it has some shrewd things to say about class and money – though the satire might have been sharper and the running time shorter by a good 20 minutes.

Everybody in this movie seems to be lying through their teeth. In less sure hands, this could have resulted in annoyance.

If The Origin of Evil were only lurid camp it would pall fairly quickly, but Marnier is careful to weave a fine vein of pathos through this narrative.

Based on “The Origin of Evil,” I’d call Sébastien Marnier a filmmaker to watch.

It becomes a much darker film than [HBO's] Succession is a television show, and I love the way it's constructed.

Where the film does succeed is in conveying the particular, illicit delight of watching people be nasty to one another.



Entertaining cuckoo in the nest thriller ultimately plays it a little safe

While it nods to the misanthropic Patricia Highsmith, The Origin of Evil also boasts some twisty Agatha Christie-style plotting and a touch of Hitchcock glamour.

Marnier attains a great feeling of side-stepping and evasion, allowing the juicy reality of the set-up to declare itself gradually.