Adapting his own graphic novel, the Oscar-winning co-writer of 'Anatomy of a Fall' appears determined not to have any fun with a potentially fertile cross-gender, body-swap mystery.
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Courtesy of Neon, Cannes Film Festival If you’ve ever caught yourself having just too good a time with “Freaky Friday” or “Your Name” or really any entry in the oddly well-populated body-swap genre, here’s a chance to do a little penance. “The Unknown” is Arthur Harari‘s third directorial feature, after “Dark Inclusion” and “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle,” and his return to Cannes competition after co-writing Justine Triet’s blistering Palme d’Or-winner “Anatomy of a Fall.” But absent “Anatomy’s” mordant wit, and lacking even the sturdiness of “Onoda,” “The Unknown” makes ponderously heavy going of its switcheroo storyline, which is led by Léa Seydoux sulkily facing down the challenge — to be fair, quite a big one — of embodying a character who feels aggrieved that they look like Léa Seydoux.
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