Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • 3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
    • 3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
    • 3625. Ode To Joy (2019)
    • 3624. One Chance (2013)
    • 3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)
    • 3622. The Polka King (2017)
    • 3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)
    • 3620. Friendzone (2021)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»2692. Happy End (2017)

    2692. Happy End (2017)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on September 24, 2019 100-109 mins, 2017, 4 - 5.9, Drama, France, Movies Of 2019, Review, Sep 19
    5.8 Very disappointing
    • Acting 6.0
    • Directing 5.6
    • Story 5.8
    • User Ratings (1 Votes) 3.1

    Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz

    Director: Michael Haneke

    Running Time: 107 mins


    Happy End is a French film about a wealthy family who encounter a major crisis both in their personal lives and professional ventures, sending the household dynamic into chaos.

    With his classic style of patient, quiet storytelling that turns seemingly normal events into intense personal crises, Michael Haneke has brought some brilliant films to the big screen over the years. Unfortunately, Happy End isn’t one of them, proving to be everything that Haneke’s films shouldn’t be – boring, inconsequential and repetitive – and fails entirely to provide the gripping intensity he’s so well known for.

    Now, as acclaimed as his body of work is, there’s no denying that Haneke is somewhat of an acquired taste for general audiences. The brand of quiet and patient filmmaking that has won him so many plaudits is quite challenging for many of us who aren’t entirely used to the world of cinema as a supposed ‘high art’.

    That’s not to say his films don’t deserve praise for a lack of mainstream appeal, and Haneke’s bold style is in fact one of the reasons he stands out so much, with his best films taking totally normal, harmless situations and injecting stunning drama and gripping tension where you would never expect it.

    With that said, Happy End is the film that unfortunately lives up to more stereotypical expectations of Haneke’s style. It’s very quiet, very slow, and leaves a lot of its core drama up to the viewer to really engage with, but it unfortunately fails to bring that tension and underlying intrigue into the mix at the same time.

    It’s a real shame, because with such great talent behind the camera and legendary actors like Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant in leading roles, this should have been a fantastic watch.

    However, Haneke goes overboard in his attempts to bring imperceived drama into the story with a tedious opening act, something that’s made all the more frustrating by an overstuffed ensemble cast, featuring too many characters with varying agendas that makes the film not only dull, but very confusing to follow.

    The third act may bring a little more intrigue and drama to the table, with a striking final sequence that packs more of a punch than the entire hour and a half before it, but it still doesn’t make up for a film that spends far too long on silent, understated storytelling without building in real tension and intrigue, making it really difficult to engage with the film at any point throughout, and that’s why I’m giving Happy End a 5.8 overall.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. Since January 1st, 2013, he has watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    7.1

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    5.3
    January 17, 2022

    3620. Friendzone (2021)

    7.1
    January 10, 2022

    3612. The Lost Daughter (2021)

    8.0
    January 7, 2022

    3609. Licorice Pizza (2021)

    7.2
    January 7, 2022

    3608. Lamb (2021)

    7.4
    December 30, 2021

    3599. The King’s Man (2021)

    6.3
    December 29, 2021

    3598. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

    8.4
    December 28, 2021

    3597. West Side Story (2021)

    6.3
    December 27, 2021

    3596. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

    Recommended Movies
    9.3
    Review
    July 16, 20130

    224. Léon: The Professional (1994)

    8.0
    Review
    July 1, 20210

    3397. The Family Fang (2017)

    8.2
    Review
    February 27, 20190

    2471. Instant Family (2018)

    8.5
    Review
    December 27, 20160

    1596. Deepwater Horizon (2016)

    8.7
    Review
    October 28, 20170

    1935. Bad Genius (ฉลาดเกมส์โกง) (2017)

    Popular Posts
    7.1
    January 24, 2022

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8
    January 23, 2022

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9
    January 22, 2022

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    7.4
    January 21, 2022

    3624. One Chance (2013)

    6.3
    January 20, 2022

    3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)

    7.5
    January 19, 2022

    3622. The Polka King (2017)

    6.0
    January 18, 2022

    3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)

    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.