A banker's wife suddenly disappears. Suspicion falls on an indebted garage owner... But the further the investigation progresses, the more the police lose their bearings, and the viewer with them. The plot is both threadbare enough to take real pleasure in losing us, and in some ways over-applied. This permanent imbalance detracts somewhat from the film, which would undoubtedly have required a little more genuine madness. But Jalil Lespert, making his fourth feature (his previous, Yves Saint Laurent, was a smash), has not lacked ambition in this case, delivering an icy erotic thriller with sado-maso undertones that provoke a lasting sense of unease. None of the characters is really sympathetic, or even touching, making identification difficult. This doesn't stop the seductive Romain Duris, or Jalil Lespert, who has reserved a role for himself, from surprising us in unexpected ways. Even so, we've only got eyes for the mysterious and sensual Canadian Charlotte LeBon. She's not Sharon Stone (yet) and Iris isn't Basic Instinct, but this is clearly the path the film has set out on. We won't argue with that...
Yves ALION
French film by Jalil LESPERT (2016), with Romain DURIS, Jalil LESPERT, Charlotte LEBON. 1h 39.
