Happy End
Director: Michael Haneke
Talent: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz |
Released: 1 December
Nobody ever expects a ‘Happy End’ from a Haneke film but we rarely expect such an exhaustingly turgid piece of film-making by one of the most acclaimed directors of his generation. The Piano Teacher, Funny Games, The White Ribbon and Amour rank among some of the finest cinematic releases of their time which makes Happy End all the more baffling. The hallmark concerns of Haneke are in place — namely the misanthropic bourgeoise — but he fails to provide his customary spark to the usual tinderbox of mounting tensions.
Isabelle Huppert plays Anne Laurent, who has assumed control of a lucrative family construction business from her ageing father Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) in Calais. He is suffering early stage dementia rattling around an opulent home. On a worksite, Anne’s somewhat deadbeat son Pierre (Franz Rogowski) has caused some accident which is jeopardising their business. Not the mix comes Anne’s brother Thomas (Mathieu Kassovitz) who is harbouring secrets of his own while looking are the 12-year-old daughter of his previous marriage. It has all the ingredients of a Haneke and Trintignantplays the sybaritic patriarch with relish.
But Happy End ploughs on with nods to immigration and a world in the clutches of social media. The humour remains dark but the only happy end is from relief when the credits roll.
Words – Michael McDermott
