The Other Laurens Movie Review *Out Now on VOD

“The Other Laurens” is about an impulsive, unpredictable teen, Jade (Louise Leroy), who runs to her uncle Gabriel Laurens (Olivier Rabourdin), for help when her father, François (the other Laurens outside of Gabriel and Jade), turns out to be dead. Well, there’s an urn with ashes in it anyway.

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Wickedly, the story’s beginning leads you to believe you’re on another ride. Exposed is a seedy, dark underworld where no one has a say in their own lives, and women are stared at through glass while they sleep as if they’re pieces of art on display. You wonder if they have any say in the matter. What we’re watching is morbid right off the bat.

Gabriel is a private detective who specializes in catching adulterers. Outside of this, he has no other life. None. He was taking care of his elderly mother and just buried her. Now, he’s learning that his estranged brother, François, is dead. Jade has come to ask for his help with solving what she believes to be the murder of her wealthy father. She knows he’ll help because Gabriel isn’t just his brother but his twin.

Jade is being followed continuously by someone that she professes not to know. It turns out that she has been surveilled every step she has made for her entire life. Her father was very paranoid, so, who turns out to be her godfather, were the eyes watching her since she learned to walk. Those eyes, and the eyes of everyone in the biker gang that has a part in the Laurens’ lives, are not stopping anytime soon.

The mystery of who these people are unravels, but you first meet Shelby, François’ American wife. She still lives in a beautiful mansion but acts as if they were destitute due to his loss of investors and their terrible idea of Vegas in France not coming to fruition. Being broke is a hard sell when there are still classic cars in the garages, including a Shelby Mustang Jade has her eyes on.

Is Shelby saying they’re broke so she can keep the money for herself and her “brother” in from Phoenix? He’s Scott, played by Edwin Gaffney, and is made fun of for once being a part of the war in Iraq, but is now flying fat German tourists in a helicopter to have a look into the Grand Canyon. I’d take that gig if I could fly a helicopter, wouldn’t you?

I digress. Jade loses patience with her yokel of an uncle who makes the mistake of getting too personal. He tells her a story about him and her mother that she doesn’t want to hear. Not only does he tell her that, but he gets downright nasty with Jade. Being that she no longer needs his help, and he won’t be a good replacement for her father, as she thought, she dismisses him.

Here comes one of her biker babysitters to tell her a fable. She listens but isn’t fully absorbed. However, this story bears fruit before the end of the movie, so pay attention to what he’s saying. This is where you can pinpoint the noir becoming your typical independent film. When it begins to come together, it really comes to life.

It does take too long to get to the point; it’s a bit of a slow burn, as they say, but it’s worth the watch. Had the run time been cut down a touch, I think the audience would have appreciated that effort, and the narrative would have been better because it’s hard to stick with, at moments, as it is. But, if you do keep watching, you’ll mostly be delighted. Allow me to put it out there that not every movie needs almost two hours to lay down the essentials for us to catch on to the plot. I wish this need for writers and directors to make such lengthy movies would end. Having said that, this movie did premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, so its stretch didn’t hurt it any. I just wanted to mention the time you’ll be putting in.

The cinematography is sublime, almost as perfect as the score is. Some characters come and go, leaving you puzzled, but the actors are engaging and have chemistry, especially our leads. Some secondary characters bring on what few laughs there are and are splendid with their timing, but most fade into the background. The storyline is mostly all about this detective and the twin he clearly fought with most of his life. The use of the Twin Towers going down on 9/11 makes its point loud and clear about the rivalry between this particular set of twins. Director Claude Schmitz was fearless in using this imagery.

*See it NOW on VOD.