Plot
A recent college graduate flees to Paris after a break-up, where his involvement with a prostitute begins to reveal a potentially dark recent past.
Release Year: 2012
Rating: 6.6/10 (193 voted)
Director:Antonio Campos
Storyline
A recent college graduate flees to Paris after a break-up, where his involvement with a prostitute begins to reveal a potentially dark recent past.
Writers: ,
Country: ,
Language: ,
Release Date:
Filming Locations: Paris, France
Technical Specs
Runtime:
User Review
A disturbing and uncomfortable film that is difficult to like
Rating: 5/10
"Simon Killer" is an odd, bleak and deeply unsettling film that I
simply could not get to grips with. It tells the story of a young
American neuroscience graduate, Simon (Brady Corbet). Simon leaves the
United States and goes to Paris in an attempt to get over the somewhat
traumatic break-up of a five-year relationship with his girlfriend
Michelle (a character who does not appear in the film). There is
something not quite right about Simon. He is a bit like Patricia
Highsmith's well-known anti-hero Tom Ripley: cold, unfeeling, amoral
and emotionally unintelligent. He is also a compulsive liar.
Soon after his arrival in the French capital (where he initially stays
with a cousin of his - who is, in fact, not really a relation but a
friend of the family), Simon goes into a sex club where he pays for sex
with one of the resident prostitutes, Victoria (Mati Diop). As a result
of that encounter, he develops a relationship with her and later moves
into her small flat. Victoria opens up to Simon and tells him intimate
details of her past, including the fact that she miscarried some time
ago. Simon is less willing to disclose information about himself to
Victoria. Indeed, one of the many problems with the film is that the
viewer is given little or no hint as to what actually motivates Simon
and why he frequently behaves so oddly. Part of that oddness is his
attitude to women, whom he seems to view as nothing more than objects
of sexual desire. At the same time, he attempts to blackmail some of
Victoria's "customers" in order to finance his stay in Paris. He later
meets another attractive young woman, whom he had bumped into earlier
in his stay, and begins a brief relationship with her. This
understandably upsets Victoria. Things move on from there.
"Simon Killer" is a very unpleasant film. It is full of graphic sex
scenes, many of which are quite unnecessary in that they add little or
nothing to plot or character development. In addition, Simon is a
deeply unsympathetic character. It is left to the viewer to decide why
he is like he is. There are hints that he has some sort of Oedipus
complex or perhaps a personality disorder (or both). What is clear is
that he is an extremely selfish and shallow person who lacks any sort
of empathy for other people. Much of the plot has the feel of
improvisation about it. And it's really not at all clear what the
message of the film is. In addition to all that, I was simply not
convinced by the relationship between Simon and Victoria, in particular
why, of all her many "customers", she would choose him as someone with
whom to have a serious relationship. Although the conclusion of the
film is well done, much of what precedes it is ponderous and lethargic
and, as a result, extremely boring. The soundtrack, however, is one of
the best of any film that I have seen. But when all is said and done,
"Simon Killer" is an unsatisfactory film that is difficult to
recommend. 5/10
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