Review of Truffle (2008) by Maggie D — 06 Sep 2008

Nguyen's second feature lenght film is an almost complete success on its terms-- well, at least on what it was trying to achieve. Indeed, there are no place for wordy monologues nor for overacting in any sense of the term in Truffe. It's incredibly subtle, even with the presence of Critters-ish creatures whose methodic rampage is both underplayed and grotesque.

It's also nice to look at, of course. When the plot falters a bit and loses its momentum, the beauty of the images catches us back. Alternately playing the juicy B-Movie and the German expressionism card, Nguyen's directorial choices are never less than very intriguing.

Alas, it's not terribly compelling. Despite the cast's best efforts (Dupuis and Bonnier, backed by a flawless stage direction, still amaze), it's more about the show than the plot. The screenplay being more a social commentary than an actual story, it's quite hard to find ourselves completely drawn in by what's happening, except maybe when Bonnier's Alice wanders through dimly lit corporation corridors with a plank full of rusty nails. Also, the climactic fight scene only roars for one tremendously exciting minute. It's a shame it deflates so quickly after such an effective slow burn of a film.

But hey, complaining about the lack of action in Truffe would be like asking for an MP3 player on a sublime painting. It's a strong film, even if one can't really shake off the feeling that it's barely among the best of Nguyen's future work.

See it.