How to ruin a movie with artificial theatrical dialogues generously sprinkled from start to end. Guédiguian and Valletti apparently found the way. What a nightmare it must have been for these actors, most of them talented, to go through these ridiculous scenes. On top of that, there is nothing really original in the plot itself and the camera work, similarly bland, does nothing to at least make it esthetically beautiful. To top it up, none of the overly stereotyped characters is developed enough to summon even a little bit of empathy or give some much-needed relief. Same impression about the silly social and political commentaries randomly thrown out of the blue, that are supposedly spicing up this tasteless salad. For a Mediterranean dish, it is a quite a spectacular failure.
Review of The House by the Sea
