Directed by Sébastien Marnier, “The Origin of Evil” (2023, Original title: “L’origine du mal”) is a French-Canadian thriller, now streaming on Shudder. It follows a woman who tries to reconnect with her wealthy, estranged father and his family. She attempts it in the wake of her extreme financial woes. The film discusses themes of wealth, power, greed, & human cruelty through its beguiling, slow-burn mystery thriller. Besides Laure Calamy as the lead, “The Origin of Evil” stars Suzanne Clément, Jacques Weber, Doria Tillier, Céleste Brunnquell, and Dominique Blanc in central roles. Spoilers ahead.
The Origin of Evil (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
What is ‘The Origin of Evil’ about?
“The Origin of Evil,” directed by Sebastien Marnier, follows Stéphane (Laure Calamy) as she decides to reconnect with her father after decades as a result of her financial collapse. The film largely follows her journey while she tries to assimilate into her father’s new family. Backed by a stellar ensemble cast, this thriller slowly unravels its twists while being seductively charming. The plot is quite similar to “The Talented Mr Ripley” & its most recent adaptation – “Saltburn.”
What happens in ‘The Origin of Evil’?
“The Origin of Evil” begins with a glimpse into Stéphane’s life. We meet her at a fish cannery, working at a monotonous job. After work, she goes to meet her girlfriend in the prison. But she refuses to meet her. Back home, Stephane’s landlady tells her that her daughter is planning to move back. So, she expects Stephane to move out. Around the same time, Stephane learns that she is the biological daughter of a wealthy businessman Serge Dumontent (Jacques Weber). So, because of her impending financial issues, she decides to call and see him in person.
Eventually, Stephane meets Serge at a port. He takes her to a restaurant that he owns and says that he started from scratch. Stephane admits that her mother – Leonare saw Serge about two years ago. Unfortunately, Leonare died a few months before their meeting. Hearing that, Serge feels sorry for Leonare’s death. Stephane consoles him. Right after, Serge takes Stephane back to his lavish house, where she feels odd & uncomfortable. Since she isn’t used to being in such places, she looks around the house in awe. George’s wife – Louise (Dominique Blanc), comes to have a word with her and raises her anxiety even further.
What is Stephane’s initial experience at Serge’s house?
Serge’s family is used to expecting servitude from others. However, Stephane feels awkward about it. It becomes obvious that she struggles to connect with these cold-blooded rich people. Unlike Serge, Louise & their daughter George (Doria Tillier) consider her an intruder trying to get a piece of their wealth. Even though they both see Serge as a useless individual, he tries to portray himself as someone Stephane would look up to. While juggling between the expectations of all these people, Stephane tries to hide her discomfort – even when she speaks with their house help Agnes (Véronique Ruggia). Once Stephane leaves the port, George googles her name to check if she can find any information. She finds nothing helpful.
Meanwhile, Stephane goes to meet her girlfriend at the prison. The girlfriend apologizes for her moody behavior and shares a kiss. Afterward, Stephane returns home to learn that her landlady’s daughter has returned. So, in the middle of the night, Stephane needs to look for another place to stay. Later on, she writes a letter to Serge. Although it upsets Louise, Serge seems quite pleased by it. After reading, Serge invites her to his house immediately. So, Stephane leaves her work midway. Unlike her anxious, insecure self, she seems surprisingly confident and carefree – which feels like we’re seeing a completely different person. It gives us a first glimpse of this woman’s duality.
Why does Serge invite Stephane to his house?
Serge’s son had left his family years ago with no clear explanation. Since he is out of the picture, George & Louise hope to procure his property. So, by inviting Stephane to his house, he tries to win her confidence – to use her to put up a fight against them. Although George continues to give Stephane the cold shoulder, Serge loves the fact that he has at least someone who will act exactly as per his wishes. However, George finds Stephane’s closeness with Serge unbearable. Eventually, she confronts Stephane about her identity – considering she has no ID proof on her.
Moments later, Serge loses his balance and ends up spilling wine on the floor. Even when George or Louise do not help her, Stephane helps without feeling any shame. Still, it does not end Louise & George’s suspicions about her. So, Stephane impulsively decides to leave late at night. After stepping out of the house, she realizes that the ferry does not go out that late. By the time she returns, Serge gets angry at Louise & slaps her. Suddenly, it makes Louise a bit more sympathetic toward Stephane.
What happens when Stephane visits her girlfriend at the prison?
Stephane goes to visit her girlfriend at the prison, and they have sex. Afterward, her girlfriend shares her wish to meet her actual father. Stephane reminds her of how badly he treated her mother. But the girlfriend cannot let go of her wish. Since Stephane keeps opposing it, the girlfriend gets frustrated. Before the guard brings her out, she calls her ‘Stephane’ while the prisoner calls Stephane ‘Nathalie.’ Soon after, Stephane returns to Serge’s house and shows her ID card as Stephane. Louise also tries to form a close relationship with her.
When her girlfriend calls from the prison, Stephane does not pick up her calls. The girlfriend worries she overreacted and apologizes on the voicemail. Meanwhile, Serge asks Stephane to take his side in the upcoming property dispute. Since George & Louise try to prove that he is not of sound mind anymore, he wants Stephane to claim otherwise. To make her agree to it, he tries to feed her money – expecting that’s what makes people do things he wants them to. When Stephane refuses to do so, he gets angry & violent. That is the first time Stephane sees this dark side of her father.
What happens during the property dispute discussion?
After Serge gets violent, Stephane hurts herself by banging her head on a pole. Once she regains consciousness, Serge insists she stay back at Agnes’s cottage. He wants Agnes to vacate it because Stephane claimed she stole something from their house. Stephane says she cannot stay there, but Serge refuses to budge down. So, George attacks Serge and shuts him up. It looks like she is done with him dictating how other people should lead their lives. After this incident, she bonds a little better with George & her daughter Jeanne (Céleste Brunnquell).
Finally, at the property dispute discussion, Stephane claims that Serge secretly stayed in touch with her for years. She also praises how well he treated her & her late mother. However, she suddenly makes a pivot to mention that his condition has severely deteriorated. She notes how he walked into the bathroom while she was naked in the bathtub. Stephane mentions that he forced herself on her. Besides, she states she has seen Serge getting violent with other women in his family. It immediately ruins his reputation, which takes a toll on her mind. Right after, he feels unstable and gets hospitalized.
The Origin of Evil (2023) Movie Ending Explained:
What shocking truth does Serge reveal about Stephane?
Once Serge gets hospitalized, Stephane stays next to his bed. He wakes up and reveals a shocking truth based on his prior knowledge. In the past, he had attended his daughter’s court trial before she received a 5-year prison sentence. So, the moment he saw a different woman arrive at the port, claiming to be Stephane, he understood that she was lying. However, he continued to pretend he didn’t get her help in a fight against Louise & George. Not that she betrayed him, he reveals that she is an orphan named Nathalie Cordier. Nathalie has a history of conning people for their wealth.
That is when Nathalie lets go of her façade & accepts that she is trying to replace Stephane. Nathalie still tries to win Serge’s trust by claiming to be in touch with his estranged son. Right after, she smothers him with a pillow. However, neither she nor Serge knew that George was in the same room. Anyhow, George realizes that this stranger lied about being her step-sister, Stephane. Still, she does not confront her. Instead, she contributes to Nathalie’s lie and pretends that her father died because of a stroke. She goes along with it because Nathalie helped get rid of Serge, who proved to be a problem in everything she wanted to do. After his death, she won’t have any more disputes, which gives her freedom to use the money however she pleases.
Does the Dumontet family meet the real Stephane?
In prison, Stephane reads the obituary of her father. She procures permission to go out to attend his funeral. Once she reaches the church, she sees Nathalie sitting next to George & Louise. She finds it surprising but does not say anything at the time. Later, she shows up at Serge’s lavish house and tries to speak with them. Nathalie notices her and tries to sneak out. But Stephane notices Nathalie and stops her. While they walk out, George gets a hint of whatever’s happening. So, she goes to lend a helping hand to Nathalie. She helps throw out the real Stephane, claiming she is lying.
Stephane gets heartbroken seeing her girlfriend steal this important part of her life. Somehow, Serge’s death helps Nathalie become a part of his family. Nevertheless, despite Nathalie’s cruel betrayal, Stephane comes back to this house to confront her. While caressing Nathalie, Stephane puts a fire on her arm. After putting it out, Nathalie attacks Stephane. Then, she drags her body to a nearby cliff and drops her down. She returns home & pretends that everything’s normal. However, the lies soon catch up to her. After a short while, the police arrive at their house and start questioning the family about Stephane.
What does the ending mean? Does Nathalie get arrested in the end?
The officers show the real Stephane’s photo, but the family claims to have seen her fleetingly during the funeral. Nathalie says she doesn’t recognize that woman. But the moment police officers call Stephane, her phone starts ringing in Nathalie’s pocket. So, in the end, Nathalie’s lie gets out and possibly becomes public. But there’s also a chance that George will defend her for getting rid of Serge out of the equation. So the abrupt ending leaves it open to interpretation.
