Elodie (Amandine Noworyta) and her girlfriend Laetitia (Iris Jodorowsky) dream of having a child together but problems with Elodie’s health mean that they are struggling to get pregnant. With financial troubles nipping at their heels, the women decide to advertise for a room-mate and they think they’ve found the perfect person when magician Simon (William Mesguich) comes into their lives. Soon Elodie is fighting to keep her relationship together as Simon sinks his hooks into Laetitia, and threatens to turn their world upside down.
‘Between Us’ is from film-maker Jude Bauman and it’s a slow-bubbling thriller that has a few surprises up its sleeve. Exploring the deterioration of Elodie and Laetitia’s relationship, the film starts with Elodie having been rushed to hospital. The film then jumps back to tell the story of how things arrived at that moment, starting with the women interviewing potential flat mates. Simon seems a little odd when he first appears, but his intensity and mysterious nature starts to catch Laetitia’s eye.
With Elodie busy working, Laetitia and Simon grow ever closer and their relationship crosses a boundary that one of them didn’t expect but the other one wanted. What follows is like a modern-day twist on the 1990 thriller ‘Pacific Heights’ with Simon manipulating Laetitia and proving to be anything but the ideal room-mate. Elodie meanwhile has to come to terms with a serious betrayal and use all of her power to get rid of Simon from their lives.
‘Between Us’ really relies on you just going along with what happens on screen. It’s clear to the viewer that there’s something a bit odd about Simon and it doesn’t take too long for that to reveal itself. Could he really get in the middle of Elodie and Laetitia though? That’s a question I’m not sure how to answer. The suggestion is that he presses buttons for Laetitia that she’d long thought were closed off but I’m not sure I bought into her reaction to him, and her willingness to be manipulated.
That being said, the performances are decent. Amandine Noworyta is believable as a woman who is on the verge of losing everything while Iris Jodorowsky portrays Laetitia as a rather self-serving person who thinks mostly of what she wants, rather than the way that impacts on those around her. William Mesguich’s performance is the standout though and he’ll make your skin crawl. I felt uneasy every time he was on screen and as Simon’s behaviour escalates, I crossed my fingers tightly that he’d get his comeuppance.
‘Between Us’ is a perfectly watchable thriller, even if it never quite explodes in the way you hope it will. There’s a really sinister undertone to the whole film and the final act is as sad as it is shocking. Whether you buy into Simon’s manipulation will determine whether or not you’re happy to go along with the film’s sometimes unrealistic twists and turns. I found it perfectly entertaining but I can’t say it’s a film I’ll be desperate to watch again in the future.
Cast: Iris Jodorowsky, William Mesguich, Amandine Noworyta Director: Jude Bauman Writer: Jude Bauman Certificate: Unrated Duration: 100 mins Released by: Breaking Glass Pictures Release date: 6th December 2022
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