Fantastic Fest ’14 Review: ALLELUIA

In the intro to the film, the presenter noted that Alleluia is the first and the last showing of Fantastic Fest and made note that this is appropriate mostly because it’s seriously fucked up.  He was accurate in that assessment, of that I’m sure.  I saw this nearly 5 days ago and simply didn’t know exactly what to say about it for quite some time.  Director Fabrice Du Welz knocked my socks off with Calvaire in 2004, which is a very French take on the “backwoods people” horror archetype.  There are images in there that haunt me to this day, and I haven’t seen the thing in about 8 years;  Calvaire is one of those movies that I purchase because I loved it, yet have a difficult time finding a desire to revisit it often.  Calvaire will now have a partner happily gathering dust in my collection very soon.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: two criminals fall madly in love and nothing good comes of it.  This take on the “Lonely-Hearts Killers” story is unique, but it’s been used dozens of times, most notably in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers and more recently in Sion Sono’s Cold Fish, to name a few.  Michael (Laurent Lucas) is a con-man with a penchant for seduction, while Gloria (Lola Duenas) is stuck in a failing marriage.  Their paths cross via a dating website and soon Michael is unknowingly being seduced himself by a very desperate woman who will do literally anything for his love.  Suddenly the con artist is being twisted and manipulated, and his attempts at getting money unearth jealousy that leaves a pile of bodies in their wake.   There’s also a musical number.

It’s a very, very dark film with some comedic moments, including that musical number.  That turning point is when things take a very grim turn while using a song to offset it.  If by this point in the film you don’t shut it off simply because it’s too out there, good for you…you’re my kind of people.  There are bits and pieces which are Gloria’s unhinged mind giving way to illusions.  There’s fire or the color red which washes over a few key scenes that represents many internal emotions.  What transpires is crazy, violent, disturbing, and all around tough to watch.  Du Welz imbues the film with a nice sense that something is bound to happen at any moment, an unpredictability that is, well, predictable.  Each con strains  more and more of Michael and Gloria, and you know that something is going to give eventually where hell breaks loose.  Gloria is a bomb waiting to go off, and Michael is a helpless straggler along for the ride.  The power shift between them is incredible.

Both performances are absolutely perfect with Lucas’ smarmy charm and Duena’s love-sick pathos making for a dangerous combo.  The movie hinges on our believing that these two societal misfits actually belong together and desire each other, and Duena’s psychotic-break moments are extremely powerful and intense.  She especially is impossible to take your eyes off of no matter what horrible thing she’s doing.  The film is very uncomfortable, with lots of close ups where we feel like we have to back away but Du Welz refuses to let us.  Alleluia is certainly not a film that’s easy to love, but sticking it out until the bitter end is a rewarding experience worth trying out.  This one festers in you.