A new crop of films hit TIFF in less than a month, which means we can enjoy a couple weeks of previews and teasers hinting at all the cinematic goodness to come. A clip for one of the selections, Therese, just hit the web, and the footage promises a dark period drama about obsession and murder.
Directed by Charlie Stratton and based on a book by Emile Zola, Therese stars Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) as an unhappily married woman at the mercy of her overbearing mother (Jessica Lange). To escape her misery, she begins an affair with her husband’s friend, Laurent (Oscar Isaac), but their relationship ends with tragic results. The film has plenty of festival-friendly traits — an ill-fated love story, beautiful costumes, award-winning actors — but Harry Potter fans will be especially pleased with the addition of Tom Felton, who plays the main character’s husband.
See the clip below, which features Felton and Lange gushing over Isaac as a doe-eyed Olsen hangs in the background:
Synopsis:
A romantic thriller set in the lower depths of 1860’s Paris, THÉRÈSE is a tale of obsessive love, adultery, murder and revenge based on Emile Zola’s scandalous novel THÉRÈSE RAQUIN.
Sexually repressed, beautiful and young, Thérèse (Olsen) is trapped in a loveless arranged marriage to her sickly cousin Camille (Felton). Spending her days working behind the counter of the family’s small shop with her husband’s domineering mother, Madame Raquin (Lange), an occasional dominos night is her only distraction.
When Camille brings home Laurent (Isaac), a charming and handsome childhood friend, Thérèse is drawn in by his primitive sexuality and overwhelming presence. A secret and risky affair quickly evolves into an insatiable obsession, and Thérèse is finally alive. Dominated and controlled solely by their lust, they soon plot to remove the only obstacle to their freedom – the unsuspecting Camille.
After a terrible “accident” takes Camille, Laurent quickly assumes his place as Thérèse’s new husband and Madame’s loving son. But guilt soon consumes the murderous pair, their desire unraveling into suspicion and mistrust while they torment each other with threats of confession. Watching as they spiral out of control, Madame comes to realize the horrific truth and Thérèse must finally face the tragic consequences of her own reckless passion.
Thérèse makes its world premiere at TIFF next month before a fall release.
Did this first clip prove promising?