RED ROOMS (LES CHAMBRES ROUGES) movie poster | ©2024 Utopia

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Juliette Gariépy, Laurie Babin, Elisabeth Locas, Natalie Tannous, Pierre Chagnon, Guy Thauvette, Frédérick De Grandpré, Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos
Writer: Pascal Plante
Director: Pascal Plante
Distributor: Utopia
Release Date: September 6, 2024

Directed and written by Pascal Plante, RED ROOMS (LES CHAMBRES ROUGES) contains multiple mysteries. Who is the killer, will the right person be convicted of the crime, and why is Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy) so fixated on the case?

We will learn that Kelly-Anne is a high-end model and online poker whiz. We meet her as she makes her way through pre-dawn Montreal to a courthouse. She is here for the opening of the trial of Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos).

Chevalier stands accused of torturing and murdering three adolescent girls – ages thirteen, fourteen, and sixteen – videotaping the crimes, and selling the videos on the dark web. The crime site is what’s known as a “red room.”

While we hear some audio from the recordings, and get a closeup of the masked perpetrator, we never see what’s on the tapes. That would be for a very different sort of movie than RED ROOMS.

We do, however, get a graphic enough notion of what the recordings contain, thanks to the presentation of Crown Prosecutor Chedid (Natalie Tannous) in an early courtroom sequence that lasts approximately twenty minutes of running time.

Defense attorney Fortin (Pierre Chagnon) insists that his client is a victim of mistaken identity. Chevalier is sequestered in a glass box within the courtroom, and doesn’t seem inclined to utter a word, both of which add to the optics of guilt. But is he guilty?

Clementine (Laurie Babin), for one, is convinced of Chevalier’s innocence and is certain he is being framed. A young woman who has traveled cross-country to attend the trial and sleeps outside the courthouse to make sure she will be in line for admittance, Clementine believes Kelly-Anne is a kindred spirit. (Kelly-Anne goes home to her high-rise apartment, but also arrives at the courthouse early every day.)

Filmmaker Plante maintains our curiosity throughout, occasionally hitting a nerve with moments of tragedy and horror. He has a strong visual sense, washing early morning and night in deep blues, making the courtroom pristine white, and giving us a sense of Kelly-Anne’s soul by mostly keeping her apartment dark, illuminated only by screens and whatever light comes through the plate glass external walls.

Gariépy convinces us of Kelly-Anne’s absolute determination, even though until the climax, we don’t know what her purpose is. She has a face that allows us to project any number of interpretations on her mood and intent. Babin wins us over with openness and naturalism.

Plante does sometimes indulge a techno-geek side that will be less than thrilling for the uninitiated. When Kelly-Anne engages in a high-stakes online poker game, it’s hard to get viscerally worked up about watching her play.

We do get resolution on multiple fronts. However, RED ROOMS doesn’t fully pass “The Refrigerator Test.” Originally posited by Alfred Hitchcock, “the Refrigerator Test” is what happens when a film holds our attention and seems to make sense while we’re watching it, only to leave us with “wait a minute” questions later when (for instance) we open the refrigerator. A few of those queries remain unanswered by the finale.

RED ROOMS keeps us guessing throughout, has a cold, moody beauty, and delivers enough so that we are mostly – but not wholly – satisfied by the end.

In French, with English subtitles.

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