Gentle Monster opens with Lucy Weiss (Lea Seydoux) playing a version of the 1992 Charles & Eddie song “Would I Lie to You?”. The movie focuses on Lucy, a renowned pianist, who moves to the countryside with her husband Philip (Laurence Rupp) and their young son (Malo Blanchet). Their daily life is disrupted when police officer Elsa Kuhn (Jella Haase) arrives at their home with a search warrant as Philip is charged with possession and distribution of child sexual exploitation material.

The film puts the audience in Lucy’s shoes, allowing the viewers to also experience the shock she feels when they learn the crime her husband is accused of and the confusion at attempting to unspin the web of lies he created around her. Thanks to Seydoux’s excellent performance, the viewers are really able to get into the protagonist’s mind and experience the story from her point of view, which makes it all the more harrowing as Lucy has to examine years of memories to decide who and what she can really trust.

The two stories in the film run parallel to each other, and the mirroring storylines add an extra level of complexity to a fascinating film. While much of the film focuses on Lucy, the audience also sees part of the story from Elsa’s perspective and gets an insight into her own story, which seems entirely different from Lucy’s but actually shares the same themes of doubt and distrust.

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However, the two storylines approach does not always work, as each takes away from the other. Neither narrative truly has time to develop properly, which risks leaving the audience frustrated every time it switches back and forth from one to the other. They are also not connected enough to warrant the constant change in perspective and need to follow them both, as the storylines often feel entirely separate. As the movie goes on, it constantly feels like it is merely hinting at the topics it is talking about rather than properly touching on any of them in depth.

If it had focused on just Lucy’s storyline or Elsa’s rather than both, then the film could have had a layered and nuanced analysis of its complex narrative rather than remaining at surface level. Overall, Gentle Monster could have been a much more complex and fascinating film. Instead, the movie barely structures the surface but never really goes any deeper at any point. With a strong cast, led by the unsurprising incredible Seydoux, the performances are the heart and soul of this movie and what makes it stand out the most.

And for that alone, along with the complex questions it forces the viewers to consider, it is a movie worth seeing when it comes out on Netflix for the general public.

★★★

Playing at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival on October 7th, 9th and 16th/ Léa Seydoux, Jella Haase, Laurence Rupp, Catherine Deneuve / Dir: Marie Kreutzer / Netflix/ 18

About the Author

Clotilde Chinnici

Author

Clotilde’s love for film began at a very young age with the Disney cartoons she would watch over and over. However, her passion for films truly sparked with franchises like Hunger Games and Harry Potter. After graduating with a BA in Film from King’s College London, Clotilde started working in film production and entertainment journalism while developing a deeper understanding of film movements and trends. Although most of her time is occupied by watching films, writing and talking about them to anyone who will listen, Clotilde enjoys reading and baking in her free time.

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