The Successor is the story of Ellias Barnès, the new artistic director of one of the world’s leading haute couture brands, but when the official announcement is to be made, he receives news of his father’s death. Ellias, a Canadian, had not spoken to him in 20 years, but he must be the one to attend the funeral and enforce his parent’s last wishes. So he flies from Paris to Quebec, thinking he only has to fulfil a few formalities. Unfortunately for him, things will turn out to be very different.
Xavier Legrand is not a prolific director.
Which is a shame. With his previous film, Jusqu’a la garde, he won the De Laurentiis Opera Prima Award and the Silver Lion for Best Director at Venice in 2017. Six years later, he is in competition at San Sebastian with The Successor, a surprising horror-thriller with many twists and turns that maintains a constant tension from the very beginning, hinting at much with few words and measured gestures.
The story focuses on father-son relationships.
It is another variation about family as a treasure chest of terrible and unspeakable secrets. But Legrand adds other essential elements to this, from guilt to the handling of grief via the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie and the corruption of power. Everything weighs on the shoulders of the protagonist of this story, the fashion genius Ellias, who, to make his way, has had to wait patiently for the death of another father, the artistic one, from whom he cannot wait to free himself once and for all.
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Legrand constructs the writing with great poise and intelligence and stages the tale as essential as it is practical, supported by the truly magnificent performance of Marc-André Grondin, a Canadian actor who deserves much more consideration from international cinema.
The Successor is a remarkable film.
It confirms the talent of this French filmmaker, who thinks carefully before getting behind the camera. And that is never a bad thing.