From the outset, with this film interweaving plot and characters in two time periods, 32 years apart,The Key promised much but eventually delivered little.It is not an easy film to follow as new characters (usually unsavoury) appear out of nowhere. I will not even attempt to summarise the plot as this has been done elsewhere but I must agree it is a convoluted one, this not necessarily being a weakness. What irritated me throughout was the weak characterisation throughout, most annoyingly that of Eric. Honestly, from early on I did not care what fate awaited him. Why did he not want to take possession of his father's ashes? Why didn't he attempt to find out more about him? After being on the receiving end of skulduggery at the hands of the hooker Cecile and associated thugs, after being bundled into the boot of a car and confronted by unknown hoods, after being given the heave-ho by his wife, Eric never confided in anybody. Apart from half-hearted attempts to enquire of those who were treating him badly just exactly what was going on, Eric did nothing. Half-way through the movie, his character so exasperated me that like almost all characters in the movie, there was no empathy. So much so did Eric's character annoy me that his early demise would have been a blessing! Even though Eric's wife Audrey does tend to whine somewhat in the early scenes, I at least could sympathise with her. Overall, an unsatisfying two hours of cinema.
Review of La clef
