Family is a sordid affair, arguably the most sordid affair. Claude Schmitz’s neo noir mystery The Other Laurens (French: L’autre Laurens) is an exploration of how bitterness and resentment between siblings can curdle into something even worse, with an impact that can pass down to the next generation.
Much in the way that Dick Laurent’s death kicked off Lost Highway, The Other Laurens is sparked by the death of less than savory business tycoon Francois Laurens. Francois’ identical twin Gabriel, a washed-up PI who’d rather forget Francois is soon drawn into the whole mess when Francois’ daughter Jade shows up at his door pleading for his assistance in getting to the bottom of what actually happened to her father. Gabriel finds himself immersed in the world his brother thrived in, complete with bumbling cops, femme fatales, French bikers, and Spanish gangsters.
This film is a tactile delight. Visually, it feels like a tribute to the night and all things that occur under the cover of dark; streets and parking lots lit only by the dingy glow of streetlights, darkened back roads, and neon bar signs are all found here aplenty. The synth heavy soundtrack, all electronic string washes and driving beats, is perfect for the mood this film seeks to achieve and honestly, I think this combination is where the film is strongest.
Now, I’m a sucker for a good noir film. Be it Fargo, Blue Velvet, or Black Rain. Give me your anguished and morally dubious male characters with troubled pasts, your doe eyed damsels in distress, your striking and unconventional lighting. I want it all. I want the feeling of driving around a city at night, lost in my own thoughts, desperate for a change, and utterly alone in an increasingly hostile world. The Other Laurens delivers some of that; Oliver Rabourdin as Gabriel Laurens is brimming with a pitch perfect sense of suffering and ennui. Rabourdin fully delivers a character who is not only content to watch the world pass him by but actively waiting for that ride to end. His interaction with his niece Jade (portrayed perfectly by Louis Leroy) is what drives the narrative of this film. The two of them coming to terms with their family history (or attempting to anyway) and the resulting conflict forms a solid bedrock for a great story to unfold.
Unfortunately, that potential greatness never really comes to fruition. For as incredible as this film looks, in the end it’s woefully lackluster. In theory, it’s a fantastic story. But in execution it doesn’t quite hit the target. At almost two hours in length, it feels far too long for what it’s trying to do, and a lot of it feels like the filmmakers are just padding out the run time between scenes. It’s somewhat tragic because all the performances are fantastic; I can’t commend Leroy enough for her depiction of a teenaged girl who has seen enough of the world to know how it works but it still not adult enough to understand why it works that way. But the climax is so underdone and shoehorned in it feels almost like an afterthought, and the result is something that doesn’t feel like a slow burning film so much as an aimless and meandering film.
There’s no real nastiness to this movie, no grime, or teeth, despite being filled with all sorts of unsavory characters. The danger in a film like Blow Out or After Hours just isn’t here. The Other Laurens should be a great film, but instead any attempts at intrigue and mystery get bogged down in the leaden approach to storytelling.
***
THE OTHER LAURENS screens theatrically at Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas via Fantastic Fest Presents from Friday, August 23 in NYC (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lower Manhattan) and Austin (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema South Lamar), and on Saturday, August 24 in LA (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown Los Angeles), followed by a VOD release on Tuesday, August 27.
