The Successor

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The Successor

2023

1h 52m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

75%

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12 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Ellias Barnès, 30, is the newly-announced artistic director of a famous Parisian fashion house. But as expectations are high, he starts experiencing chest pain. Out of the blue he is called back to Montreal to organize his estranged father's funeral and discovers that he may have inherited much worse than his father's weak heart.

Jordan Mintzer

The Hollywood Reporter

Let’s call it a case of swinging for the fences and hitting a foul ball that lands somewhere far off in the upper tiers, so much does this ambitious and well-made but extremely flawed film miss its mark.

Sep 27, 2023

Full Review

Peter Debruge

Variety

Whether the film is meant to be seen as an isolated case or a metaphor for a much larger societal problem, the impact is unnerving.

Sep 27, 2023

Full Review

Fionnuala Halligan

Screen International

The Successor delivers a succession of jolts, and none of them are palatable. They’re all finessed, though, by a writer-director and technical team who know exactly what they’re doing...

Sep 26, 2023

Full Review

Alejandro Lingenti

La Nación (Argentina)

Legrand uses a brutal and unexpected twist to amplify the horror, and from then on, The Successor becomes loaded with tension and overwhelming pessimism. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Aug 29, 2024

Full Review

Ezequiel Boetti

Otroscines.com

... An intense emotional tour de force about the implications of facing dark secrets. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 28, 2024

Full Review

Juan Pablo Russo

EscribiendoCine

The Successor raises the disturbing question of whether it is possible to break free from inherited patterns or whether we are destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 8/10

Aug 27, 2024

Full Review

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Tony L

Let’s just put aside the fact that at least 2 movies (not naming them as it involves spoiler) have a similar twist. The entire second half of this film is built on the character’s utterly incomprehensible behavior that’s devoid of any common sense. *Given that the director also made Custody (a much better film btw), I think he has some daddy issues.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/25

Full Review

Rob G

The character’s behaviour is completely illogical.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/28/24

Full Review

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Xavier Legrand

Director

Marc-André Grondin

Ellias Barnès

Yves Jacques

Dominique Duchesne

Louis Champagne

Actor

Anne-Élisabeth Bossé

Actor

Blandine Bury

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Synopsis

Ellias Barnès, 30, is the newly-announced artistic director of a famous Parisian fashion house. But as expectations are high, he starts experiencing chest pain. Out of the blue he is called back to Montreal to organize his estranged father's funeral and discovers that he may have inherited much worse than his father's weak heart.

Director: Xavier Legrand
Producer: Alexandre Gavras, Sylvain Corbeil, Anton Iffland-Stettner, Eva Kuperman
Production Co: BE TV, Stenola Productions, France 3 Cinéma, Metafilms, KG Productions, VOO, Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: French
Runtime: 1h 52m