DIRTY WEEKEND (LE WEEKEND) (France 2013) ***

Directed by Christophe Granier-Deferre

DIRTY WEEKEND, originally titled LE WEEKEND sees some pretty nastiness covered up as mild comedy.  If the script or direction took the material into farcical territory, the film could have worked better.  

The dirty weekend takes a romantic couple to Normandy, north of France.  But do not expect to see French Normandy as the action takes place at a cottage that could very well by anywhere in the U.K.

On a ferry boat bound for France, Trish (Kristy Oswald), a 17-year old school girl is on her way to spend a long planned weekend away with her lover and history teacher Mike Mallory (Jamie Parker of THE HISTORY BOYS and VALKYRIE), 34 years old, yet still boyishly handsome.   This is underage pedophile territory, the subject often just dismissed as a laugh in the film.  After a short drive, the couple arrive at a small idyllic country house.  Taking a tour round the house, the romantic setting is suddenly shattered as the couple discover broken glass and muddy footprints.  They search the house for the intruder and finally find Vincent (Pierre Perrier), inside the bathroom.  He lies deathly still, eyes closed and has blood caked all over his forehead with an oversized duffle bag filled with cash by his side.  Trish wants to do the right thing, but Mike convinces Trish they should stash the money and destroy the bag it came in. Meanwhile Vincent wakes up – not dead after all, but wishes he was, until he remembers the money.

The film appears to have a simple plot, but as the saying goes, the plot thickens.  Trish is pregnant unknown to Mike.  Mike had intended to murder her to save his reputation.  Mike blackmails Vincent to do the deed as he is too chicken for murder.  Gendarmes show up and in their own words, rather let them kill each off other than interfere.

The script does not bother to explain in detail where the gold coins came from or how this good-looking Vincent could be such a cold blooded killer.  The script has to let the audience believe that any one of the three is capable of murder, given the right opportunity.

The film is not half bad but the laughs are few and far between.  But there is one really funny line that Trish spurts out (will not be spoiled in the review) just before she hits Vincent with a shovel.  The many plot developments distract from the film’s lack of hilarity, so the film turns up quite watchable.  the film is available on VOD and DVD from October 14th, if one wants to spend a nice evening with murder on the menu.  The film is shot in English with a little French.

(No trailer found)