This French adaptation of the Ruth Rendell novel "A Sight for Sore Eyes" is perhaps a bit pretentious and tries too hard to be "arty." While it follows the plot of the novel fairly closely, the director is more concerned with the look and feel of the film, unusual camera angles, moody, atmospheric photography, and suspenseful music.
The real contrast between the book and the movie is that in the book, you get a clear explanation of who the characters are and how they got that way. The movie dispenses with this almost completely, so you only see the characters as they are, with one or two very brief hints about their backgrounds. If you don't know the plot from the book, you may have a hard time sorting out who's who, especially in the first 20 minutes or so.
However, if you don't mind a movie in which there are mostly unappealing characters, and there's a glacial coolness to the way the story is told, showing very little sympathy for most of the characters, this is a reasonably entertaining thriller. As a fan of the book, I of course prefer Rendell's story, with its vivid depiction of strange characters, and I wouldn't rate this as an especially good adaptation. On its own merits, it works well enough.
According to the DVD, the French critics raved about this one; there are several quotes comparing the director to Hitchcock and praising the film in very fulsome language. However, the movie hasn't been released in the US, so you'll need a region-free player if you want to see it.
The real contrast between the book and the movie is that in the book, you get a clear explanation of who the characters are and how they got that way. The movie dispenses with this almost completely, so you only see the characters as they are, with one or two very brief hints about their backgrounds. If you don't know the plot from the book, you may have a hard time sorting out who's who, especially in the first 20 minutes or so.
However, if you don't mind a movie in which there are mostly unappealing characters, and there's a glacial coolness to the way the story is told, showing very little sympathy for most of the characters, this is a reasonably entertaining thriller. As a fan of the book, I of course prefer Rendell's story, with its vivid depiction of strange characters, and I wouldn't rate this as an especially good adaptation. On its own merits, it works well enough.
According to the DVD, the French critics raved about this one; there are several quotes comparing the director to Hitchcock and praising the film in very fulsome language. However, the movie hasn't been released in the US, so you'll need a region-free player if you want to see it.