Rotten
In definite need of a sea breeze to cool off its overheated characters, the Greek melodrama Blackmail Boy reaches for tragedy but settles for soap opera.
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
Blackmail Boy
Blackmail leads to murder in a small town.
2003 · 1h 40m · N/A
Drama
Directed by
Thanasis Papathanasiou
,
Michalis Reppas
Overview
In the small, closed community of a provincial town, Magda tries to maintain a balance within a family facing many serious problems. The families apparently normal, bourgeois, every-day life will crack open, bringing to the surface hatred and passions of the kind that lie well-hidden in the mists of the nearby lake. An intense plot and a totally unexpected ending make up this film, which features characters who are vulnerable, innocent and ordinary, but who become ruthless and callous, worrying only about protecting their financial resources. The offences are disproportionately serious compared to the financial benefits they try to secure
Director and cast
- Thanasis Papathanasiou Director
- Michalis Reppas Director
- Nena Menti as Magda
- Maria Kavoyianni as Vicky
- Akyllas Karazisis as Giorgos
- Joyce Evidi as Gia
- Alexis Georgoulis as Stelios Nousias
- Jinny Papadopoulou as Giota
- Giannis Tsimitselis as Hristos
- Alexandros Antonopoulos as Manolis
- Anna Kyriakou as Anneta
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
17%
Tomatometer
Rotten
It's a mean-spirited exercise in stilted outrageousness.
Ernest Hardy, L.A. Weekly
Rotten
There are moments of amusing melodrama, but for the most part, the action is too preposterous to take seriously, and too serious to be very much fun.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Rotten
Toward the end, there's a delightful dream sequence, which shows that director-writers Michalis Reppas and Thanassis Papathanasiou aren't complete hacks. Perhaps they'll do better the next time out.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Rotten
The Greek film Blackmail Boy has the feel of farce at times, but much of the time it just seems determined to shock.
Anita Gates, New York Times
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