A middle-aged woman lives a lonely and unfulfilling life as a small-town librarian. Once upon a time, the handsome man she loved so passionately deserted her in order to marry a rich but shallow woman. Even her brother Antoine, who moved to the big city, has become a near-stranger. On an impulse, she writes a short letter to Antoine, asking for news. She does not know that she is setting in motion a formidable and gruesome chain of events...
"Une atroce petite musique" deserves far more critical attention than it is getting right now, since it is a fine thriller with an original intrigue, well-drawn characters and a number of completely unexpected twists and turns. Lead actress Alice Sapritch gives a remarkable performance, rich in ice and fire, as a plain woman consumed by regrets who suddenly finds herself holding a number of unholy trump cards.
The movie also works as an indictment of life in a small community where gossips have taken it upon themselves to comment upon everybody's smallest movement. Everything and anything is commented upon - the depth of a smile, the duration of a handshake, the number of glasses drunk during a meal - and the result is hellish in its claustrophobia. Here, the fine old streets may be sweetly picturesque, but what happens on these streets is often an exercise in psychological torture. Even a funeral is an occasion for gossip, what with eagle-eyed observers discussing the multiple faults of the deceased while judging the quality of the mourners' grief (or, as the case may be, non-grief).
On a somewhat brighter note, and with regard to the plot : "Une atroce petite musique" contains a young male gangster of singular professional ineptitude. Here is someone who would have been better off choosing a career as a baker of croissants...
"Une atroce petite musique" deserves far more critical attention than it is getting right now, since it is a fine thriller with an original intrigue, well-drawn characters and a number of completely unexpected twists and turns. Lead actress Alice Sapritch gives a remarkable performance, rich in ice and fire, as a plain woman consumed by regrets who suddenly finds herself holding a number of unholy trump cards.
The movie also works as an indictment of life in a small community where gossips have taken it upon themselves to comment upon everybody's smallest movement. Everything and anything is commented upon - the depth of a smile, the duration of a handshake, the number of glasses drunk during a meal - and the result is hellish in its claustrophobia. Here, the fine old streets may be sweetly picturesque, but what happens on these streets is often an exercise in psychological torture. Even a funeral is an occasion for gossip, what with eagle-eyed observers discussing the multiple faults of the deceased while judging the quality of the mourners' grief (or, as the case may be, non-grief).
On a somewhat brighter note, and with regard to the plot : "Une atroce petite musique" contains a young male gangster of singular professional ineptitude. Here is someone who would have been better off choosing a career as a baker of croissants...