The Ones Below **½ (2015, Clémence Poésy, David Morrissey, Stephen Campbell Moore, Laura Birn) – Movie Review

Clémence Poésy plays mother-to-be Kate, who has just moved into the top half of a house with her husband Justin (Stephen Campbell Moore). In true English fashion, they avoid their downstairs neighbours in the flat below till Kate discovers that Teresa (Laura Birn) is equally far along with her pregnancy. They become new best friends and Kate invites Teresa and her menacing husband Jon (David Morrissey) up for dinner.

It turns out to be the dinner party form hell as first friction, then tragedy follow, sparking the story of parental paranoia in a script that mixes Pinter with Polanski.

It’s an interesting enough thriller, with some good ideas, flashes of style and an eerie, menacing atmosphere, even if writer-director David Farr’s work lacks great subtlety and finesse. He can’t seem to overcome the small-scale, basically theatrical nature of the material, making it feel more like a TV drama or stage play than a movie. He does manage tension and surprise though, and the acting is credible and effective from the well-cast actors.

It played at Toronto International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival, claiming its arty credentials, but it’s best seen as an offbeat commercial thriller. BBC Films is one of the Production Companies, so eventually it will be heading for TV, where it will probably play quite well. There was also funding from the British Film Institute (BFI).

© Derek Winnert 2016 Movie Review 

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