Léa Seydoux’s Life Unravels in First Trailer for Marie Kreutzer’s Gentle Monster

Following up Corsage, Marie Kreutzer returned this year with her Cannes premiere Gentle Monster. Starring Léa Seydoux, Laurence Rupp, Jella Haase, and Catherine Deneuve, the drama concerns a concert pianist whose life is upended when she learns of a dark secret inside her family. Ahead of a theatrical release beginning October 30 and Netflix debut on November 18, the new trailer has arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “From director and writer Marie Kreutzer (Corsage, Austria’s entry for the 95th Academy Awards), Gentle Monster tells the story of concert pianist Lucy (Léa Seydoux), who has just relocated her family to a country house hoping to ease her husband Philip’s (Laurence Rupp) severe burnout. Before they have a chance to set up their new home, an early morning police visit tears their life apart. Trapped between the man she loves and the fear of what he may have done, Lucy must face the situation alone as her world unravels. With a cast that includes Jella Haase alongside the legendary, Academy Award nominee Catherine Deneuve, Gentle Monster asks what we do when someone we love turns out to be someone we never really knew.”

Savina Petkova said in her Cannes review, “Gentle Monster marks the Austrian filmmaker’s return to psychological drama / thriller territory of 2019’s The Ground Beneath My Feet, but the former wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the genre-bending Corsage. In fact, a turn of events following the completion of the her-story period film became the real-life basis for Kreutzer’s new script. Saying any more would reveal perhaps a bit too much about plot than intended, but if the reader is already familiar with a certain scandal that shook the Austrian film industry in 2023, they wouldn’t be surprised by the plot twist that comes early in Gentle Monster, whose title refers to Philip’s character. Rupp, who’s primarily known for his TV roles and 2024’s absurdist comedy _Veni Vidi Vici, _carries the heavy load for the role of a tortured man whose desperation and resentment are cloaked in love. His face remains expressionless and hard to read throughout as the relationship with Lucy strains and snaps, and no amount of sorries can wash off the stench of secrets he exudes in every scene.”

See the trailer below”