Everything to know about the disturbing psychological drama ‘Gentle Monster’
Netflix has no shortage of dark dramas, but Gentle Monster? Oh, this movie has some pedigree. Marie Kreutzer’s film competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in May, four years after Corsage put the Austrian filmmaker on people’s radar, and now it’s heading to Netflix.
Stop everything and just take a look at the cast: Léa Seydoux, Catherine Deneuve, Jella Haase and Laurence Rupp. If you recognise those names, the film has probably got your attention already.
Kreutzer has said the film looks at what happens to people around someone accused of an appalling crime, rather than making the accused person the centre of attention, and hence, we are getting a unique change of perspectives here.
Wait, were you in the mood for some chill November viewing, though? Yeah, forget that because Netflix gets the film this November, so yeah, here is what you need to know before adding a reminder for Gentle Monster.
What is Gentle Monster about?
Seydoux plays Lucy, a concert pianist who moves with her husband Philip and their young son to a country house near Munich, hoping the change will help with Philip’s burnout. But one day, the police pay them a visit and seize his computers, followed by an arrest over allegations involving child sexual abuse material.
Lucy is left wondering whether the man she loves is someone she ever knew, while worrying about her son’s safety (naturally). Gentle Monster stays with that uncertainty instead of becoming a straightforward hunt for answers.
Is Gentle Monster based on a true story?
Not directly, but the idea came from something real. In 2020, Kreutzer read a Die Zeit report about a major paedophile network uncovered in Germany, and she has said it made her feel physically sick.
Years later, Florian Teichtmeister, who appeared in Kreutzer’s Corsage, was convicted in Austria over child-abuse material. Kreutzer had written Gentle Monster by then but said the case strengthened her resolve to make it.
Who is in the cast?
Seydoux plays Lucy, Rupp plays Philip, and Haase takes on investigator Elsa Kühn, while Deneuve plays Lucy’s mother, Eloise. Malo Blanchet appears as Lucy and Philip’s son.
When does Gentle Monster release on Netflix?
Gentle Monster is not making a direct debut on Netflix, as it will run in select cinemas from October 30th before streaming on the platform from November 18th. So if you fancy something light before Christmas, this is absolutely not that film!