Red Rooms
In his native Quebec, the writer-director Pascal Plante explores the morbid recesses of the dark web.
Image courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.
This film, the third feature to be written and directed by Pascal Plante, is set in Montréal. It is both fascinating and ambitious, which is to say genuinely fascinating but arguably too ambitious. What is certain is that it is a work which could from its promotional material appear to be much less interesting than it actually is. The British censor’s ‘18’ certificate may appear apt for a story that is concerned with a serial killer whose victims are young teenage girls who meet torture and death in a manner that could hardly be more shocking. Furthermore, their fate is in each case recorded on video and becomes the kind of thing that is available through the dark web to customers who gain access to the red rooms there where it is on display.
Such subject-matter is usually encountered in horror movies of the kind often found in exploitation cinema but, despite the darkness of its subject-matter, Red Rooms is in no way a film like that. It's powerful enough to leave some viewers believing that they have seen more than has actually been shown, but in fact the film introduces itself as a courtroom drama during which two horrifying videos are shown in the court but without them being seen by the film audience. Nevertheless, the opening scenes do find the prosecutor (Natalie Tannous) describing in some detail what the accused, Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos), is alleged to have done after which the defence attorney (Pierre Chagnon) suggests that there is no conclusive evidence that his client is indeed guilty.
These scenes are of a kind often seen before, but Plante gives them a fresh look. This particular courtroom is modern, light and spacious, and the camera observes the proceedings in a way that stresses the setting. The film also features long takes and allows the drama to feel intense and real by eschewing at this stage any music on the soundtrack. Yet, just as it would be wrong to regard Red Rooms as a horror film, it also proves to be far removed from the standard courtroom thriller regardless of the scenes that play out in that setting. As the piece progresses it comes to concentrate increasingly on two members of the public who go out of their way to be present at this trial. One of them, Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy), lives locally in a high apartment block and has a career as a fashion model whilst the other, Clementine (Laurie Babin), has come from out of town. She, being younger and, in effect, a groupie who is following the case, is passionate in her belief that Chevalier is in fact innocent.
This side of the film proves to be of the essence since the story plays out in ways that reflect modern society in more ways than one. The adversarial nature of the proceedings makes us aware of how much in law is viewed simplistically (everything presented as black-and-white rather than grey) and, if that puts one in mind of Anatomy of a Fall (2023), Clementine’s determination to believe that the accused is not guilty echoes the many people who today take firm and intense stands on public issues even when there is no real evidence to support their belief. But the crucial figure here is Kelly-Anne who reflects our age in a different way. She is deliberately presented as an enigmatic figure and, even though she befriends Clementine, we note how she never expresses views that support hers. We do know that Kelly-Anne is extremely skilled in technological matters and that the internet provides opportunities for her to indulge her gambling instincts at poker. But, if her daily attendance in the courtroom confirms that she is obsessive about the trial, the reason for that is something about which we are encouraged to speculate and increasingly do so as the story develops.
Ultimately it becomes apparent that Red Rooms is indeed concerned with portraying current society and in particular the hold that the internet now has on us. That includes the way in which, building on the fascination that many have with real-life crimes, it can feed on society’s baser instincts through what is to be found on the dark web. Red Rooms has much going for it being well directed and with strong performances all round (yet fine as Gariépy is and however perfect the look that McCabe-Lokos gives the accused, it is the casting of Babin as Clementine that feels particularly astute). Yet ultimately it fails to fulfil its ambitions since its portrayal of Kelly-Anne falls short. Making her so enigmatic for so long adds to our dissatisfaction when the resolution leaves too many questions unanswered. There is undoubtedly a striking scene shortly before the climax when, on returning to the court once more, Kelly-Anne dresses in a way that leads to her capturing the attention of the accused. However, happening out of the blue as it does, this episode seems totally improbable and consequently more mystifying than revealing. Ironically it could well be that it is because so much of Red Rooms is so well realised that one feels let down by the final phase of the story and the unelaborated way in which the film chooses to tell it.
Original title: Les chambres rouges.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Juliette Gariépy, Laurie Babin, Elisabeth Locas, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Natalie Tannous, Pierre Chagnon, Guy Thauvette, Myriam Baillargeon, Dominique Coté, Marilyn Chamberland-Tremblay, Frédérick De Grandpré.
Dir Pascal Plante, Pro Dominique Dussault, Screenplay Pascal Plante, Ph Vincent Biron, Pro Des Laura Dhem, Ed Jonah Malak, Music Dominique Plante, Costumes Renée Sawtelle.
Nemesis Films Productions-Vertigo Releasing.
118 mins. Canada. 2023. UK Rel: 6 September 2024. Cert. 18.
