With the theatrical release calendar virtually vacant for the foreseeable future, there’s never been a better time to have your film premiere on the plethora of streaming services available in this quarantined, fibre-optic age. Even with many media heavyweights entering the fray, Netflix remains king of this court and a recent offering from Québec has shot up to the Top 10 since its debut on March 27, the curiously timely thriller, The Decline.
Antoine (Guillaume Laurin) and his family are ultra-prepared for the apocalypse; climate change, unsustainable immigration, whatever it may be. From escape drills to storing food, much of their knowledge base is gleaned from hardcore survivalist vlogger Alain (Réal Bossé) who broadcasts from his remote compound deep in the heart of the rural Nord-du-Québec region.
Thirsty for more hands-on training, Antoine joins a select group of doomsday cultists for the ultimate survival program run by Alain. Alongside the likes of ex-marine Rachel (Marie-Evelyne Lessard) and the slightly un-hinged David (Marc Beaupré, there’s always one isn’t there?), Antoine sharpens his skills in trapping, target shooting, and even bomb-making.
Now you’d be hard-pressed to have this much firepower lying around without at least one accident and when the dynamite quite literally goes boom on the most expendable cast member available, the proverbial shit indeed hits the fan. Even the seemingly well-prepared Alain didn’t have a plan for this and with a mind bent on protecting what he’s built, the factions are soon drawn with him and David vs everyone else. It’s certain to be a red christmas on the acreage this year.
Quebecois helmer Patrice Laliberté was extremely fortunate in a way to have his feature debut make its premiere at one of the last film festivals standing (Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma) before Covid-19 shut down every screen larger than 80-inches and going on to have its world debut on the largest streamer on offer.
The film excels in its first half, expertly and efficiently plunging us into the paranoid and easily fractured world of survival paranoia. The characters are distinctly drawn with no overlap and the powder keg is set up to go boom at just the right moment. How unfortunate then that Laliberté allows this exercise to lapse into a paint-by numbers thriller for the remaining half. A slickly-produced, entertaining enough thriller to be certain, but reheated leftovers nonetheless. For a film that seemed to have so much to say on rugged individualism, gun rights, climate change and globalism, the subtext dries up as the minutes tick on minus the odd moment of inspiration.
There’s so much potential set up in the film’s initial acts, especially with the patriarchal character of Alain played to a T by screen-veteran Bossé. As the most compelling character on-screen through a cunning mix of charisma and empathy, the audience is compelled to root for the man until the script shoehorns him into another stock villain depiction. I would have gladly sat through an extra ten minutes if it meant a more satisfying showdown and denouement.
With its themes of apocalypse anxiety and survival instinct front and centre, Québec’s first Netflix original is rendered considerably more timely than its filmmakers could’ve ever imagined. If they had, they may have seen fit to more meat on this bone. But as it stands, The Decline is a satisfying enough meal for a quarantined afternoon.
7/10
The Decline is now streaming on Netflix Worldwide