Review: Alleluia

Inspired by the real-life American crime case of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez (AKA The Lonely Hearts Killers) in the 1940s, this story is actually set in present day Belgium. Lola Duenas is a Spanish divorcee and mum living in Belgium. A friend suggests the clearly lonely Duenas try internet dating. This leads to a date with shoe salesman Laurent Lucas, and perhaps because Duenas is lonely and needy, things progress very quickly between the two. Things seem great, until Duenas loans a panicked Lucas money for a business deal. He never returns. Later, Duenas manages to track him down and he immediately fakes a headache, to earn sympathy. Again, because Duenas is lonely and needy, she immediately forgives him and the two take up together again. It’s here, though that Lucas makes a confession: He’s a hustler of women. Rather than kick him to the curb (because she’s lonely and pathetic), Duenas accepts Lucas’ way of earning money (also conveniently overlooking some seriously fucked up behaviour between he and his mother), and even agrees to help him in his con games, posing as his sister. Unfortunately, she can’t handle seeing him with other women, and it’s at this point one realises that there’s more to this woman than simply being middle-aged and lonely. She’s not quite right in the head. At all. And that’s when the killing spree begins.

 

Belgium-French thriller from 2014 directed by Fabrice du Welz (the frankly tedious and ugly-looking “Vinyan”) and co-scripted by Vincent Tavier, is really well-acted but there’s not much of a movie and I didn’t care a whole helluva lot. The two principal characters are pretty fucked up, and I guess we’re meant to be surprised when the most overtly creepy one at the beginning ultimately proves outmatched in craziness, but I was a bit ‘meh’ about it.

 

Klaus Kinski-esque Laurent Lucas was a lot more interesting to me than Spanish actress Lola Duenas. From moment one, this guy was setting off Michael Ironside in “Visiting Hours” or Ted Levine in “Silence of the Lambs” alarm bells (And never trust a person who tries to make a boring job sound historically and philosophically important. Especially if they work in the shoe industry!). Duenas is commendably committed to the role and much better than she was in Almodovar’s dud “I’m So Excited!”. For a while there one finds the character almost unbearably pathetic, but Duenas is pretty impressive. This chick is Jessica Walter levels of uncomfortable batshit crazy.

 

It’s the screenplay here that really sucks. The plot goes nowhere slowly, after a too-quick opening act that makes it seem a tad silly. Since the plot is already old-hat, there’s really only so far the good performances can take it. Having absolutely no relatable characters to latch on to, also does not help. This one just wasn’t for me, despite being based on the kind of true crime story you’d think would be up my alley. Not the way it’s been done here, it’s sorely lacking (and highly fictionalised anyway).

 

Rating: C