Only the Animals (Dominik Moll, 2019): France

Review by Jeremy Ellison. Viewed at SBIFF 2020.

Dominik Moll’s Only the Animals is at once a tragic lesbian drama, a bleak murder mystery, and a humorously dark look at loneliness. The story features three different sections, and involves five central characters between two continents. In the first section, we’re introduced to a farmer and a dead body. The film does little to suggest one way or the other that the farmer (played by Damien Bonnard) was involved with the deceased. His character is isolated in more ways than one. Along with living in a barren, snowy farmland far from anything, we watch him push away a woman who continually shows strong desire for him. This portion of the film is much colder and quieter than the rest, and much more in line with what one would expect of a murder mystery. But it also happens to be the least engaging of the three segments.

In the next chapter, we meet a young lady and her much older girlfriend, excellently performed by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Nadia Tereszkiewicz, respectively. Their relationship grows complicated once it’s revealed that Evelyne (Tedeschi) has only physical love for Marion (Tereszkiewicz), while Marion, on the other hand, has grown richly in love with Evelyne. Thankfully, this storyline gives the audience something to resonate with. While the rest of the film is rather detached and distant, its middle section is compelling and emotional.

For the third and most clever act, we’re taken to Abidjan, Africa, and into the world of cyber-scamming. Here, we meet Arnaud, who works in a ramshackle office full of other young adults. Their job is to lure gullible men into sending them money by posing as beautiful women in need of affection. Methodically, the scammers send pornographic videos or racy photos of other women to allure men into obeying them. In Arnaud’s case, he pretends the identity of Marion, who we met previously in the film. To further complicate matters, the victim of Arnaud’s scheme happens to be a character introduced in the film’s first section, played by Denis Ménochet. All of the aforementioned characters are connected in some way with the sudden disappearance of Evelyne.

The mystery uncovers itself patiently, keeping viewers unsure of what is ever going on. Its hesitance may frustrate some, but I found it to be a refreshing change of pace from most mystery-thrillers, which rely on rapid fire shocks to engage audiences. Instead, director Moll uses smart and unpredictable writing to oblige audiences into investing in his mystery. Although the film is clearly meant to be considered as one story, it still works when separated into three. Each piece of the triad is entertaining enough on its own, even without their questions being answered. But when viewed as a whole, the film confounds and intrigues in equal measures. It’s a confident and unique work that finds inspiration from a variety of sources, from Babel to Pulp Fiction. It’s difficult to compare it to other films, and maybe that’s precisely why it’s worth seeing.