In Fever, we meet two teen thrill killers (a la Rope and Compulsion). What makes Fever unique is the introduction of a third character – a woman who may have witnessed their getaway. She doesn’t immediately grasp the connection, but we then watch the story threads (hers and the boys’) get nearer and finally intersect. In another twist from the Leopold and Loeb set-up, the two boys are classmates who come from very different socioeconomic backgrounds.
Even with two killers in the story, the most compelling character is the woman, played with immediacy by Julie-Marie Parmentier. At first blush, she’s just a workaday optician who is gradually becoming less satisfied with her boyfriend. But, watching Parmentier’s sharply observant eyes, we soon become aware that there’s much more going on inside her.
Fever is the first time feature from writer-director Raphael Neale, and it shows that Neale is capable of inventing an unusual take on a familiar story and effectively pacing the tension in a thriller.
Fever gets its title from the Little Willie John song popularized by Peggy Lee, and there some very cool renditions of it in the movie. (And Fever is another of those French movies that make me so impressed with the intellectual content of some French public high schools.)
Cinequest will host Fever’s US premiere on February 26 at Camera 12, and it plays at Camera 12 again on February 28 and at the California Theatre on March 2.