In the Shadow of Iris (III) (2016) User Reviews

Is this a flashback or just my imagination?

[richard-fieldhouse · 7/10 · 19 February 2018]

A Paris banker's glamorous wife seems to have been abducted. What has that to do with the struggling garage mechanic? The plot is unveiled through a fairly confusing sequence of apparently disjointed scenes and flashbacks which eventually begin to make sense. The actors - Romain Duris as the mechanic, Charlotte Le Bon and Jalil Lespert as the banker play their parts well.

Other reviewers have said there are holes in the plot, but I'm not so sure. It doesn't help that all French people apparently look the same: tall, dark-haired... All the men have beards. I hoped in vain for somebody who might be blond - or non-white. I've even watched the beginning of the film back through and I think everything does hang together - or near enough anyway. It is just the pace of events - some happening off-screen or presented out of order - that leads to confusion.

And, of course it's a French film - in French. This also means we aren't afraid of a little nakedness here and there - or S&M for that matter - wherever they can be worked into the plot. Not so much though as to get in the way of the story.

The result is a dark and atmospheric thriller which is worth watching whether you worry about it making complete sense or not.

interesting despite some holes

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 6 September 2017]

I won't go into all the holes in "In the Shadow of Iris," a French film from 2016. They are well covered in a preceding review.

Romain Duris stars as the beleaguered Max, who comes under suspicion when the wife of a businessman disappears, apparently kidnapped.

I won't say anything else about the plot. Have you seen it before? Yes, but others in the same ilk were nowhere near as confusing. The flashbacks seem way out of sequence. It all comes together in the end, though.

Charlotte LeBon is gorgeous with a figure to die for and we do see a lot of it. This movie is French, so there is sex, including S&M all over the place.

Most of the drama comes from Duris, and he's excellent. The rest of the cast is good: Jalil Lespert, Camille Cotin, Adele Bencherif, and Helene Barbry.

Strange and dark, it will remind you somewhat of Hitchcock. But he was easier to follow.

Good but not perfect

[alshamari-marwa · 7/10 · 8 October 2020]

Iris, young wife of a banker, disappears in Paris. Maybe a mechanic with many debts is involved in the strange affair. A really complicated job for the police.

French 🇫🇷 movie with a really good twists, not perfect but very enjoyable thriller with interesting storyline

Framed

[searchanddestroy-1 · 19 November 2016]

What a terrific little French thriller in the pure Hitchcock manner. A masterpiece of editing and acting as well with Romain Duris at his very best and also maybe as you have never seen him before. Brilliant, intelligent in the script and, I repeat, the editing that may give you a weird taste in the mouth at the end, but that's precisely what I love in this film. The audience may also be lost during the first part because of the so complex editing, but everything eventually makes it afterwards. Don't be worry, folks. I highly recommend it. But one thing worries me a little. Maybe I missed something. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. DO NOT READ IT IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT PLEASE. When the couple of Lespert and his mistress decide to frame Duris in order to get rid of the wife, did they know the wife would be killed, or was she already dead? When the mistress was tied up in the apartment by Duris, was the wife already dead, or was she killed after? because if the wife was killed BEFORE the mistress contacted Duris, that means the corpse would have remained a long time in the bedroom; an a corpse remaining so long could not be "misunderstood" by Duris when he discovered it and first thought the woman was just asleep. I guess a corpse smells a lot only after a couple of hours... After all maybe I missed something, but I repeat, the editing is so complex, that you may be lost in the chronology. Anyway, that's a must see. Far, far from Hollywood line, especially because of the exquisite ending.

Good with lots of twists and turns

[raypowell · 7/10 · 5 October 2020]

I will agree with others that the cops were inept and there were plenty of gaffs and goofs, but overall, I like the movie. It is like many movies where everything falls into place at the end.

Confusing with Potential

[boothjacquie · 4/10 · 13 April 2018]

This has all the makings of a great suspenseful movie, but the way it's presented is confusing & hard to follow. Not a complete waste of time but leaves me feeling disappointed.

Another French drivel

[newjersian · 3/10 · 13 May 2017]

Every French detective story I've seen is rather a parody on that genre. Iris is another French drivel that pretends to be a thriller. Many episodes of Iris are so laughable that even a sixth grader can just dismiss them. For instance, the criminal uses his cell phone to request a ransom. After the crime is committed, and police starts a surveillance of the criminal, he just continues to use his own cell phone. It can take 10 minutes of a detective's time to figure out who the criminal is. However, in this movie police is coming to a dead end. In Iris the bodies don't decay for weeks, so you can freely move them around. The detectives are so smart that they can pick up the suspect just by looking at a list of hundreds of people. The person committing suicide falls in the grave in such a manner that even an acrobat is unable to perform. The whole movie disregards any logic, just for the sake of beautifying the story. Avoid by any means!

Nice twisted thriller...

[kamalbeeee · 8/10 · 4 January 2019]

Good thriller movie with soo many twisting...non-linear screenplay is as good as than normal thriller movie...

"Strike dear mistress ,and cure his heart...."

[dbdumonteil · 3/10 · 14 May 2018]

It's just for show,that "Iris" :deep dark atmospheres, superb Paris by night shots , depths of field in ominous corridors, actors who give the whole thing the kiss of death with zombie-like performances ,unsupported by a pretentious directing,and a screenplay which seem complicated instead of complex.

At first sight ,"Iris" looks like a classic old thriller :the lady vanishes ;but no sooner had it begun than we realized that it's not: you should not go by appearances : the husband is not the romantic loving kind ,the mechanic is not a true kidnapper ;it's not a spoiler ,it's the very beginning of a story of "manipulations" which will give you a headache .

Medical confidentiality does not seem to exist anymore in old France,for both cops -the woman tells she has already cheated on his partner/colleague- know all about the distraught(?) husband 's sexuality ,who spends 2500 euros to pay prostitutes to satisfy his nasty habits : it used to be "scandalous" ,now it is simply mundane :in 1971,in "Juste Avant La Nuit ',Claude Chabrol began his movie with a S/M scene bourgeois Michel Bouquet enjoyed ;Clouzot's "La Prisonnière" (1968) hinted at it too.Here we attend the whole S/M delight ,complete with whiplashes,tatoos ,boots ,bondage ,all the paraphernalia ...

If you can catch up with the plot,much good may it do to you ! But this kind of "deep" "complex" but "meaningful" story ,we'be been through it all before .

"I could sleep for a thousand years " ,after watching that ,but I would need some aspirine ."I'm tired, I'm weary".

Take Polanski 's "Venus in furs" instead ,if you are interested in the subject.

Boring, not well developed.

[lexi-terrell · 3/10 · 25 May 2019]

All you see are 2 men with beards and 2 brunettes. The men look alike as do both women. I found it difficult to watch because it is slow paced to the point of tears and did watch till the end but I have no idea what anything meant. Really boring film.

Confusing

[csw620 · 1/10 · 22 December 2018]

I like a good mystery, but how many women were these two men involved with? Later half did some time shifting, and the women all looked similar and like Victoria secret models. Can't believe I watched all of this without turning it off before the end.

The beauty of this film is inexplicable.

[bola_de_pu · 8/10 · 14 April 2019]

First of all, what a tremendous soundtrack this movie has. They use the color and the photography in a masterful way, giving a sense of suspense and intrigue to the plot. The performances are excellent and the atmosphere of the film makes it interesting and sad at the same time. Do not come looking for brutal scenes of fights and many shots, you will not find them. In the same way, I consider that the movie touches the subject of fetishism in a subtle and elegant way, giving a certain sense of interest to the plot. More than anything, the film knows how to touch the existential crises through which human beings cross and that sometimes we can not decipher, yes; accompanied by a soundtrack that makes the film go from 6 stars to 8.

Thriller Mystery without any Thrills or Mystery

[mohinderchugh · 15 March 2022]

I think this is one of the worst Thriller Mystery movie i have watched recently. I waited for some twist which never came. Movie keeps on revealing every thing. I think director and writer of movie considered viewers to be very dumb and expected them to accept any thing. Please donot waste your time. Those who are expecting fair amount of skin show will also feel disappointed.

Waste of time

[irissy · 4/10 · 31 July 2021]

The story is told in a completely confusing way. The plot is actually good but storytelling and cinematography is mediocre. Even though some characters are useless, writers gave them a complicated back story. At the end of the movie, you still have a lot of questions that are unanswered. You can find better movies in this genre. I suggest you not to watch this one unfortunately...

Boring....

[mutlumehmet · 2/10 · 6 January 2019]

If you want entertainment eat sleep read etc do anything but do not waste your time with this film

Very essence of a physiological thriller

[keithco-09017 · 8/10 · 20 October 2019]

Still not sure what really happened and not sure who planned the kidnapping nor who was kidnapped.

But still worth watching a master film maker at work. Just sat back and enjoyed the ride. Classic Hitchcock styling.

Even if you do not follow French Language Sub titles will take vital care suspense thriller

[dr_hgj-48231 · 8/10 · 11 September 2019]

An extra something in form of twists, turnings, romances, sex, fantasies, criminal minds, greed, fraud every thing knitted perfectly keeping the entertainment fabric intact. Very beautiful heroine. Bankers wife is disappearing, kidnapped? framed? Who is framed? Guessing game director plays with us. Succeeds in the play Surprise elements keep you shocked through out the film. Though French Language Dialogues were appreciated by subtitles help only. The performing actors did splendidly convince every move conveyed without causing much confusion. One after another as we expect in a Romantic Thriller and Suspense Movie nicely done by balancing with Sex fantasies perversions bad manners using the criminality to create a new crime.

A compelling thriller movie

[SamuelJan03 · 8/10 · 6 October 2020]

When you watch this movie you have to make sure that you are fully focus on watching it, otherwise I think you won't appreciate it. The scenes might be a bit confusing but I'm sure if you're focus enough, you will get it.

Movie is unique and interesting and I would definitely still recommend this to people who loves thriller movies.

Another good addition to the Netflix foreign movies catalog

[sajjadsherazi · 8/10 · 1 November 2021]

Very well made. Good script focussing on few characters, all of them acted well. The director/cinematographer did a good job at maintaining the ambience of the movie throughout the runtime. The music complements the mood of the movie perfectly. Another good addition to the Netflix foreign movies catalog.