The Night of the 12th: French Noir crime film, i won't call it a thriller brcause it looks at the anatomy of a crime, the effect on the victim's family, her friends and also the suspects. Clara Royer (Lula Cotton-Frapier) was fatally set on fire by an unknown assailant as she walked home at nigh in the hills above Grenoble. T. None of the suspects are pleasant people, all of these men have bad attitudes towards women, some use domestic physical, emotional and mental abuse towards their partners, One of Clara;s friends Stéphanie (Pauline Serieys) points out to police Captain Yohan Vivès (Bastien Bouillon) that Clara is being judged because she had more than one boyfriend, how she really died because she was a girl. Yohan doesn't have such attitudes but members of his squad do, even though they are devoted to tracking down the killer. The prosaic details of the hunt, the false leads, the downbeat as a suspect is shown to be innocent of this crime, takes it;s toll on the team. Some have breakdowns. Yohan relieves the pressure through endless laps at a velodrome, going in circircles (or ovals rather) like the case. Intense performances by Bouillon, Serieys and Bouli Lanners as Marceau, Yohan's older, more experienced but volatile deputy. Important contributions come in the secod half of the film by Nadia (Mouna Soualem), Yohan's new assistant and Anouk Grinberg as the world weary investigating magistrate. No easy answers or solutions in this bleak examination of obsession, evil and misogyny. Director/Co-Writer Dominik Moll delivers an intriguing but disturbing drama based on a true case. 8.5/10.
Review of The Night of the 12th
