A One Mann’s Movies review of “Gentle Monster”. (From the 2026 London Film Festival). (2026, 4*, ’15’).
The grim subject of paedophilia has been touched on in classic films like Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita in 1962, the Danish film The Hunt from 2012 and also of course more recently the Oscar-winning Spotlight. But I can’t immediately think of any that have focused on the issue from the viewpoint of the impact on a happily married couple. Gentle Monster, from the Corsage director Marie Kreutzer, goes there.
As a result, it may prove to be a tricky film to market in cinemas: “Shall we go and watch the paedo film darling”. Not exactly a classic date-night line. (It is a Netflix production anyway, so streaming will follow shortly.) But I found it a really engrossing watch. And it also features a stunning – possibly Oscar-worthy – central performance from Léa Seydoux.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Experimental musician and performer Lucy Weiss (Léa Seydoux) has an apparently happy marriage, including a strong sex life, with her husband Philip (Laurence Rupp). Although financially struggling due to the farmhouse renovation they are pursuing, they are happy living there with their young son Johnny (Malo Blanchet). But Lucy’s world is turned upside down when the Munich police raid the house and take away all of Philip’s devices for examination.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This film has not yet received a classification by the BBFC, but I would expect it to be a 15 based on strong sex, strong language and adult themes.)
Talent:
Starring: Léa Seydoux, Laurence Rupp, Catherine Deneuve, Jella Haase, Malo Blanchet, Sylvester Groth, Regina Fritsch.
Directed by: Marie Kreutzer.
Written by: Marie Kreutzer.
Running Time: 1h 54m.
Review:
Positives:
- The film really keeps you guessing about Philip. His guilt seems to be nailed on – he IS proved to be GentleMonster_87 online – but his excuses appear credible. It reminded me of the similar accusations laid at the door of TV comedian Chris Langham, who died in June of this year. Langham was sent down for viewing indecent images of children but claimed that he was doing it for the purposes of research into a TV programme he was making. In this film, Philip is a documentary maker and asserts the same defence. The film cleverly spins the story so that little snippets of information keep dropping that keep Lucy flip-flopping in her beliefs.
- Lea Sédoux is just fantastic in this movie. As well as engaging in some ‘brave’ and very believable sex scenes with Laurence Rupp (proper sex scenes… the bra does not stay on… a regular One Mann’s Movies bug bear!), she also has to play piano and play piano really well. The concert scenes are really impressive, given that Séydoux is not a trained musician. The acting early in the film as Séydoux leans on the investigating police officer, Elsa Kühn (Jella Haase), for support is fantastic.
- Running in parallel with the Lucy/Philip drama is a glimpse into the home life of Elsa Kühn. She is a carer (pretty much full time, due to her useless brother) for her father who is in the early stages of dementia. This storyline first struck me as a bit of an irritating sideline, but when the father, Hermann (Sylvester Groth), is sexually inappropriate with his live-in nurse Natalia (Patrycja Ziółkowska) the parallels with the main story become clear: this is another example of a relationship being severely stressed by inappropriate sexual activity. A telling ‘click’ happens when Elsa is staying for the night and you hear her bedroom door lock.
- The direction from Marie Kreutzer is terrific – really impressive. A fabulous scene has Lucy chasing Philip driving away in his car, ending with Lucy standing in the middle of the road staring after the receding car. The camera sweeps around the front of Séydoux, blocking her view, but she does a great job of maintaining her distant stare nonetheless. Kreutzer uses a fade to white to indicate time shifts, as there are some flashbacks involved in the storytelling.
Negatives:
- Mid-film, Lucy makes a decision, presumably driven by love…. but I fundamentally didn’t understand or, more importantly, believe in it.
Summary Thoughts:
An emotional film about a difficult subject, but I was really engrossed in this. A recommended watch.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZNH5XSIgD4.
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