Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month

The Origin of Evil
Laure Calamy stars in this devious, involving French thriller by Sébastien Marnier, playing an outsider tangled in a web of upper-class family malice.
Director: Sébastien Marnier
Overview
Familiar to TV viewers as anxious PA Noémie in Call My Agent!, Calamy has recently made some bold big-screen moves away from that persona, nowhere more so than in this twisty psychological thriller with hints of Patricia Highsmith and Ruth Rendell. She plays Stéphane, a cannery worker with her own reasons for making contact with a wealthy family. Despite a prickly reception, she finds herself drawn ever-closer to them in a mutually compromising game.
Following his inventive, unsettling School’s Out, writer-director Marnier offers a classy, devious update on the Claude Chabrol tradition of French psychological thrillers, with a superb cast including a pricelessly haughty Dominique Blanc, screen and stage veteran Jacques Weber, and Calamy as (to coin a phrase) you’ve never seen her before.
Related

Body Double Body Double
Thriller 1984 114 mins Director: Brian De Palma
An unemployed actor is drawn into a world of voyeurism, seduction, mystery and murder, in Brian De Palma's playful and satirical homage to Hitchcock.

Red Rooms Red Rooms
Drama 2023 118 mins Director: Pascal Plante
The allure of the serial killer is explored in this deeply unsettling and unforgettable exploration of the impact of extreme violence.

Hyena Hyena
Crime 2015 112 mins Director: Gerard Johnson
In this stylish, dark crime thriller, a policeman’s complex web of underworld relationships is threatened by an internal affairs investigator.

Police Story Police Story
Martial arts 1985 101 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan's mind-blowing, high-octane extravaganza of death-defying stunts and action comedy.

Run Lola Run Run Lola Run
Drama 1998 80 mins Director: Tom Tykwer
Tom Tykwer’s breathtaking time-loop thriller, with a terrific Franka Potente as the titular runner attempting to save her boyfriend.

Everybody in Our Family Everybody in Our Family
Drama 2012 103 mins Director: Radu Jude
Radu Jude delivers on the promise of his first feature, The Happiest Girl in the World, with this superb black comedy.

Her Way Her Way
Drama 2021 97 mins Director: Cécile Ducrocq
From writer-director Cécile Ducrocq comes a bold, provocative drama starring an electric Laure Calamy (Call My Agent!) as a single mother and sex worker in a desperate situation.

Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Romance 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of a 2024 Sundance audience award

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry
Drama 2023 110 mins Director: Elene Naveriani
A fiercely independent woman’s tranquillity is disturbed by an unexpected affair, in this wry, tender and understated drama from Georgia.

The Lover The Lover
Drama 1992 115 mins Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud's powerful, intimate, and sensual adaptation of the best-selling novel by Marguerite Duras.

Green Border Green Border
Drama 2023 152 mins Director: Agnieszka Holland, Katarzyna Warzecha and Kamila Tarabura
Three-time Oscar-nominee Agnieszka Holland returns with a powerful, timely and unflinching exploration of the current migrant crisis.

Prostitute Prostitute
Drama 1981 98 mins Director: Tony Garnett
Explicit and controversial drama. An ambitious working girl moves to London hoping to securing wealthier patrons, while her social worker friend fights to change antiquated prostitution laws.

Power Alley Power Alley
Drama 2023 100 mins Director: Lillah Halla
Queer sisterhood and collective power lie at the heart of this arresting Brazilian debut, in which a promising volleyball player faces an unwanted pregnancy.