We don't like this Harry. He sticks like glue. He insinuates. He makes offers and insists on them. He doesn't respect the distance strangers should keep from one another. He doesn't think of himself as a stranger. It's not wholesome. You can't put your finger on specific transgressions, but his whole style is a violation. He starts conversations Michel has no wish to have. "How do you like Plum?" Harry asks. "She's not brainy like Claire, but she has an animal intelligence that I like. Know what I mean?" Michel doesn't want to know what he means.
"With a Friend Like Harry," directed by Dominick Moll, has the feeling of a thriller, but we can't put our finger on why we think so. Maybe it's only about an obnoxious pest. Yet Harry is admittedly helpful: Michel and Claire's old car has no air conditioning, and Harry presents them with a brand new, bright red SUV. No obligation. He wants to. What are friends for? Harry is a nickname for Satan. Is Harry the devil? By using the name, the movie nudges us toward that possibility. On the other hand, maybe he is simply a pushy guy named Harry. Maybe the locus of evil is located elsewhere in the movie. Maybe Harry brings out the worst in people. Movies like this are more intriguing than thrillers where the heroes and villains wear name tags. We know there is danger and possibly violence coming at some point, but we don't know why, or how, or even who will initiate it.
Meanwhile, everyday horrors add to the tension. Michel and Claire's family cabin is rude and unfinished, almost a shack. "It needs a lot of work." Yes, but upstairs there's a brand new bathroom with shocking-pink tile. This is the gift of Michel's parents, who wanted to "surprise" them. What do you do when someone surprises you with a gift that you consider a vulgar eyesore, and you're stuck with it? Are the people who give such gifts really so insensitive? Are the gifts acts of veiled hostility? A new SUV is at least something you want. A shocking-pink bathroom is the wrong idea in a rustic country cabin. It might . . . well, it might almost be a gift to be rid of people who insist on such annoyances. . . .
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