Quite a sober, depressing and eerie account of a true tale (different names and some details, though) about a serial killer (he got caught pretty early on, but until then it seems he was only warming up), in which the viewer mostly just follows the main character's actions; a frustrated young man who works as a policeman whose history is mostly unclear, but there are little hints about his utter frustrations and how "his sensitive side was destroyed by a careless society" (or words to that effect), as he himself states at some point in the film.
It will be difficult, if not impossible, to prove that the aforementioned details were exactly as in the Alain Lamare case, but the film easily succeeds in presenting a haunting portrait of a man gone completely crazy, but at the same time shows a lot of restraint, has the perfect cover, is quite intelligent and physically apt. Though I will readily admit he made a silly mistake by leaving his fingerprints on those car plates - which is how he got caught.
Guillaume Canet plays Franck Neuhart with much conviction, but really, none of the cast members fail; Ana Girardot, as the burdened woman who unwittingly strikes up a relationship with Franck, deserves a special mention as well. The atmosphere and cinematography are appropriately depressing (almost to point of being dreamlike, which reflects the strange state in which Franck is in), in which the beautiful countryside of France - mostly filmed at night, or when it rains or it is misty - helps a lot.
9 out of 10.
It will be difficult, if not impossible, to prove that the aforementioned details were exactly as in the Alain Lamare case, but the film easily succeeds in presenting a haunting portrait of a man gone completely crazy, but at the same time shows a lot of restraint, has the perfect cover, is quite intelligent and physically apt. Though I will readily admit he made a silly mistake by leaving his fingerprints on those car plates - which is how he got caught.
Guillaume Canet plays Franck Neuhart with much conviction, but really, none of the cast members fail; Ana Girardot, as the burdened woman who unwittingly strikes up a relationship with Franck, deserves a special mention as well. The atmosphere and cinematography are appropriately depressing (almost to point of being dreamlike, which reflects the strange state in which Franck is in), in which the beautiful countryside of France - mostly filmed at night, or when it rains or it is misty - helps a lot.
9 out of 10.