A long-lost daughter or an impostor looking for a cash-grab?
Laure Calamy stars as an elusive family member in Sebastien Marnier’s satirical thriller “The Origin of Evil,” where she reconnects with her alleged father as he nears his deathbed. “The Origin of Evil” premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, and went on to screen at TIFF, BFI, and Frameline47, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.
The official synopsis reads: When Stéphane (Calamy) gets in touch with wealthy Serge (Jacques Weber), announcing that she is his long-abandoned daughter, his immediate family are none too thrilled. As Stéphane embarks on an extended visit in hopes of getting to know Serge, she also becomes entangled with the hostile women who share a tense existence in his beautifully appointed mansion by the sea: the restaurateur’s wife (Dominique Blanc), his other daughter (Doria Tillier), a rebellious granddaughter (Céleste Brunnquell), and a strangely off-putting housemaid, all of whom are clearly unsettled by the arrival of Serge’s newly announced heir.
Director Marnier follows up “School’s Out” and “Faultless” with his latest feature, distributed by IFC Films. “The Origin of Evil” is produced by Marnier’s longtime collaborator Caroline Bonmarchand with Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of mirco_scope with Avenue B Productions executive producing.
Former IFC Films president Arianna Bocco said of the feature (via Variety), “Led by an incredible talent in Sébastien Marnier and a first-rate cast, ‘The Origin of Evil’ is a twisty, subversive, and beautifully executed thriller. Marnier is the perfect addition to the IFC family, where we can’t wait to share his wild ingenuity with American audiences.”
Lead actress Calamy told the outlet that COVID lockdown-produced “The Origin of Evil” is a “social critique and a metaphor about the end of patriarchy” and teased the film’s “grotesque humor” and suspenseful elements.
The “Call My Agent!” alum added, “I don’t have any morality when I play a role. I’m like a speleologist of human feelings, I try to understand my characters and I don’t limit myself in any way, even if there’s some monstrosity and violence embedded in them, because these traits are part of human nature.”
“The Origin of Evil” premieres in select theaters and on demand September 22 from IFC Films. Check out the trailer, and IndieWire exclusive, below.
