La Peau Blanche White Skin Daniel Roby

Thierry (Marc Paquet) is fresh meat in the big city, having recently arrived in Montreal from Gapsé to study literature. His more worldly roommate, Henri (Frédéric Pierre), decides to treat him to a poutin (a whore, not to be confused with poutine, though it often is) for his birthday. When Henri's not so happy hooker slices his neck open, the two run off and try to forget it ever happened. But bien sur, naughty boys always pay for their sins. Thierry then falls for the mysterious and pale redhead Claire (Marianne Farley), even though girls with fair complexions creep him out, and finds she's a madwoman in the sack. She tries but fails to thwart their burgeoning romance and as he becomes more obsessed, Henri suspects she's bad news. Turns out the murderous prostitute happens to be Claire's sister, and then there was the time he spied on her drinking Thierry's semen out of a condom. Part of the Canada First series, with feature film rookie Daniel Roby serving as director, producer and co-writer, with novelist Joël Champetier, La Peau Blanche both benefits and suffers from the stereotypes of French-Canadian filmmaking. On the plus side, the dialogue is very natural and in such true Québécois form that subtitles don't do it justice. The stark beauty of a Montreal winter looks like Paris or New York City at times but also accentuates its unique qualities. But then there are also the exaggerated performances (in this case though, only from the women), loosey-goosey pacing and references to famous Québécers (here it's playwright Michel Tremblay). The mixed genre style could potentially be a downer, with equal parts comedy, thriller, social commentary, erotica and horror, but this film has a comfortably light tone, making Roby a director to watch once he finds his own voice. (Seville)