There isn't much in this 2-part miniseries; consolidated into a single movie. It's fairly typical for the erotic thriller genre; offering up absolutely nothing new, bold, or surprising. The film is the usual narrative; wife in a long time marriage, meets and hooks up with a charismatic individual (usually an artist type),for a torrid affair, soon thinks better of it, breaks it off, resulting in escalating obsession, violence and danger for her and family; leading to the inevitable conclusion.
'Entre Ses Mains' is one of the latest in "wife affair" movies, of which there is a very extensive catalogue, but it fails to explore this central concept; indeed, the affair is merely a catalyst to move the story to the film's predictable events and final confrontation. The couple's relationship is only moderately delved into (the impact of the affair is never explored); it is here I have to disagree with the description of their marriage as "monotonous", it is not; they have two children, successful careers; she's stressed about a case, he's upset that she works too hard and neglects having more family time, but is supportive of her work. They argue on occasion, but resolve the conflict (not sure how, it just happens), and seem to have a physical passion for each other, although interrupted by family matters. The marriage appears rather normal, but certainly not monotonous. Which begs the question why does Clara have this one-nighter? (To the actors' credit, this moment doesn't come across as incongruent as it could, and should, have.). This leads to the central issue with the movie, there is little real character development in it; motivations are left absent. Rather than any of that nonsense, we get filler about the case she is working on (including courtroom scenes), and an unnecessary murder. Coming in at just under 90 mins., except for the filler, every event is a one-and-done; the antagonists obsession appears almost immediately, his indiscreet intrusions, shortly thereafter; the ultimate reveal of the Clara's assignation to her husband is done off screen, dismissed in the following scene with a single sentence, as he has a more important priority, protecting his family from a psychopath (this is the most common narrative shortcut for these erotic thrillers; rather than a character driven exploration of the betrayal, working toward some kind of relationship closure or redemption, the couple are re-bonded by the intense personal threat, problem solved). So compressed is the story, that the climax, which includes a kidnapping and cross-country travel, is resolved in under 6 mins. Whether the marriage survives, they don't waste the time showing or telling us.
The scenery is nicely shot, giving the film a more expansive and expensive sheen than is typical for the genre; the actors bestow the characters with more than what they're called on to do. If you're a fan of erotic thrillers 'Entre Ses Mains' will go down easy. Ultimately, it's typical straightforward storytelling, with few surprises; a confection. As a recent release, given the multitude of examples in this genre, there is little reason the makers of the series couldn't have given us something with more depth and development, rather than the usual tropes.
'Entre Ses Mains' is one of the latest in "wife affair" movies, of which there is a very extensive catalogue, but it fails to explore this central concept; indeed, the affair is merely a catalyst to move the story to the film's predictable events and final confrontation. The couple's relationship is only moderately delved into (the impact of the affair is never explored); it is here I have to disagree with the description of their marriage as "monotonous", it is not; they have two children, successful careers; she's stressed about a case, he's upset that she works too hard and neglects having more family time, but is supportive of her work. They argue on occasion, but resolve the conflict (not sure how, it just happens), and seem to have a physical passion for each other, although interrupted by family matters. The marriage appears rather normal, but certainly not monotonous. Which begs the question why does Clara have this one-nighter? (To the actors' credit, this moment doesn't come across as incongruent as it could, and should, have.). This leads to the central issue with the movie, there is little real character development in it; motivations are left absent. Rather than any of that nonsense, we get filler about the case she is working on (including courtroom scenes), and an unnecessary murder. Coming in at just under 90 mins., except for the filler, every event is a one-and-done; the antagonists obsession appears almost immediately, his indiscreet intrusions, shortly thereafter; the ultimate reveal of the Clara's assignation to her husband is done off screen, dismissed in the following scene with a single sentence, as he has a more important priority, protecting his family from a psychopath (this is the most common narrative shortcut for these erotic thrillers; rather than a character driven exploration of the betrayal, working toward some kind of relationship closure or redemption, the couple are re-bonded by the intense personal threat, problem solved). So compressed is the story, that the climax, which includes a kidnapping and cross-country travel, is resolved in under 6 mins. Whether the marriage survives, they don't waste the time showing or telling us.
The scenery is nicely shot, giving the film a more expansive and expensive sheen than is typical for the genre; the actors bestow the characters with more than what they're called on to do. If you're a fan of erotic thrillers 'Entre Ses Mains' will go down easy. Ultimately, it's typical straightforward storytelling, with few surprises; a confection. As a recent release, given the multitude of examples in this genre, there is little reason the makers of the series couldn't have given us something with more depth and development, rather than the usual tropes.
