Last week, with the release of Skincare, we thought sun-drenched noirs found their modern-day fix. The subgenre has however not died as it advances in a new film called The Other Laurens. However, this twisty and surprisingly comedic feature from co-writer and director Claude Schmitz takes place overseas in Europe.
The Other Laurens also makes you think twice and tests your patience at some points. It is not Gerry but this is hardly Jason Statham territory as it will not answer all your questions quickly. Your second viewing of The Other Laurens may be better than the first one if you want to get certain jokes and funny details that may have evaded you initially (while reading the subtitles or otherwise). But for the first go around, brace yourself for an alternative, international noir set against a bright & sunny backdrop.
If you read Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon or saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of the same name then you might see a similar dynamic here too. Instead of Pynchon’s Doc Sportello, there is Gabriel Laurens who will stop at nothing until he finds out his beautiful niece Jade (Louise Leroy) has started working with him without his consent.
That’s when the A-story and all its twisty byproducts fills picture. Gabriel’s estranged twin brother Francois’ daughter Jade comes forward to reveal some devastating news about her dad (also known as François), who was just pronounced dead; thereby contradicting what she believes her father actually did in accordance with official records that are being passed on to her by authorities trying to console her through this time of loss. Since Gabriel can be described as an experienced private investigator, he reluctantly goes down towards his brother’s mansion along the French-Spanish boundary marked by a White House like president Joe Biden’s current residence.
Is this satirical? Let us know what you think! The European variant of this mansion houses Jade’s sharp-tongued, bilingual stepmom Shelby (Kate Moran), who is backed by her boyfriend that looks like a real macho (Edwin Gaffney) and has access to a biker gang she can use to control the brewing independent investigation Jade is currently in.
Investigations always hit roadblocks and on the other hand, Gabriel cannot afford his sick mother’s medication; as soon as he tries to fill up his gas tank with his credit card, it gets declined before an unsympathetic witness Jade offers to pay for him. It’s really pathetic sight so Gabriel, who appeared to be a brilliant detective thus far decides he must stay on the case and possibly step up what he was doing.
This means completely changing his wardrobe, slicking back his hair—a blatant sign of opulence. Yes, there are only some people in Europe who know that Gabriel’s brother Francois dies. So Gabriel then becomes “the other Laurens” (his deceased twin sibling) in order to embrace the criminal underworld where his brother was involved with.
That’s when the real fun begins to kick into high gear, in more ways than one. You get a different bunch of colorful characters, including some ruthless drug lords, and a pair of local cops whose exchanges sound like taken from Tarantino’s script. There is an amazing cinematography and neon palette that feels like part Wong Kar-wai and part Brian De Palma.
This is a grand-scale ensemble narrative which gives forward-thinking ideas about how to make a deceptively simple detective story feel strikingly alternative and fresh. There’s a postmodern touch here, one that is international in scope. And about that. Don’t let the subtitles scare you; there’s plenty of English in this multilingual film from Belgium; however, its plot does become thick enough that you might miss something if you don’t both read the subtitles and see what unfolds on screen. The Other Laurens though having some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments requires your attention even when it can crawl along at snail-like pace.
So yes, sometimes the pacing slows down painfully too much and you might find yourself leaning towards your partner or friends for clarification on things taking place in certain dialogue heavy scenes. But stick with it anyway especially with an epic third act that involves helicopters putting icing on this neon-colored cake.
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