"Aus der Kurve" is a German television film that premiered back in 2015, so it is already over five years old now. This is, as you can see from the poster here on imdb, an ARD production which means you should not expect too much. Still with the focus on crime and drama rather than comedy and romance, the chance is higher for this to be a decent movie. As you can see already from my rating, I think it was the exact opposite and had nothing on the crime/violence drama I saw the other night. On the contrary, you will find it at the opposite end of the quality scale. I will get to that later on why I think so. Let's stay with the basics for now: The director of these under 1.5 hours is Stanislaw Mucha, born in Poland and he turned 50 last year, so he was 45 when he made this. Since launching his career at the very end of the old millennium, he never worked on anything else than German projects though. Kinda shocking that after 20 years in the industry almost, he still comes up with nothing better than this. Or, as I hope for him, it was just a negative one-time occurrence. Need to watch some of his other stuff to make a decision there, but right now I surely don't want to. By the way, at least his very first film as a director had a link to Poland and he also acted in two Polish films. Back to this one here, Mucha did not write the screenplay, although he sometimes does. Instead they got Brüggenthies and Heller, who really brough out the wirst in each other apparently. Such shoddy writing. But seeing how the former has mostly worked on the highly overrated Tatort series and the latter in fact worked on nothing except Tatort and this film, it is safe to say you should not expect any quality here whatsoever, because even if you keep your expectations low, they will most likely still be disappointed.
The title is not too easy to translate briefly, at least not by using three words as they did in German. "Out of the curve"? It is a metaphor to the protagonist's life here getting out of control as an old crime case is investigated again and he is the main suspect. Literally, it means a driver losing control over his car in a curve. The alternate title was "Verdacht" or "Suspicion" and that one I certainly like less than the one they went for, although there is not really that much reference here to behicales. The only one I can think of is the main character working at a store for bicycles, but there isn't even a scene in which a character is really on a bike. Before we move on to the plot, let's take a look at the cast. It says that they used many new and fresh faces for this film, which may be true, this alone is not a positive thing if these young actors aren't any good. The killer (as we find out in the end) is horrible in his final scene and don't blame his insanity for that. The actor was just limited there. Also the (original) girlfriend was not particularly good. The scene when she says she sleeps on the couch was pretty poor, especially her final statement that her body belongs to her. I mean this line was such bad writing, but the actress made it even worse by trying to go all-in. The better actors here are only mediocre too and this applies for example to the male protagonist, the suspect. Andreas Helgi Schmid or just Helgi Schmid and he looks a bit like David Goffin. The older ones are more interesting, Waldemar Kobus already through his physicality, even if he wasn't written great either and Ludger Pistor could hardly have been more wasted than he was in this movie. I like him quite a bit and I mean come on he was on Bond and this is what they give him? The other investigator and he loses all his groceries after shopping as they fall on the ground. Are you kidding me? Why would he even accept a part like this? Oh and there is a guy who looks a bit like Zack Michalowski and Dominique Horwitz, but I don't think it was one of the two.
As for the story, there are so many flaws here. It already begins with the pseudo important inclusion of the protagonist having nightmares that never played a role again later on. And why would the other guy investigate, almost on his own, in such a critical case if the prime suspect is somebody he knew very well when they were young? Prejudice anybody? They could have sent every other police officer there too. Or more than one to make it feel slightly realistic. It's a murder case come on. At least the final revelation somehow explains why the cop did not say something when they were partying the first time, but only when he arrives the next day. Still not particularlly good. There were many scenes that felt unauthentic and fake here. A great example would be the quick inclusion of a reporter and camera team trying to talk to the suspect. So random. Never something like this again before or after this scene. Other moments that were supposed to deliver a certain tension like the one when he talks to the kids at his girlfriend's school weren't terrible given the background of the crime, but still felt a bit clumsy. There he also has an argument with his girlfriend and this entire story of how the events had a severe impact on their relationship were something that did almost nothing for me. If they include something like this, they need to provide better elaboration and writing for sure. The inclusion of the other girl was something I did not like too much either, but it did get a bit better with her towards the end. But don't even get me started on the police officer's verbal drooling over the initial girlfriend. That was so embarrassing. And definitely not a vital element of a deep character study. The best friend at the bike shop well. The revelation about him and how he indirectly was involved with the whole case was another example of poor writing in my opinion. Other than that, he does not have much material, even if the character may be very showy. Me not liking him one bit probably also did not help the matter there, but that is subjective of course.
I already mentioned the ending. Now that was truly terrible. Honestly, before all that I wanted to give the film two stars more, i.e. a 2/5 instead a 2/10, but it was all so absurd that I have to take away another two stars. The revelation that he is the one who did it and also that he admits because he knows he will kill him anyway felt so false. Already mentioned the actor there and how he was really weak and over the top in that scene. But things do get worse when the woman with the curly hair shows up all of a sudden and we see she is not really dead. You can see that the film also wasn't gutsy. What happens next? The killer's father (Kobus) also shows up. Of course. It's a small world and in a twist of events he directs his rifle at his son, the police officer, and not at the protagonist he despised for quite some time as we saw earlier in this pretty exaggerated scenes with him that deal with trespassing and other stuff. Two scenes I think, also when the dadd in one brags about how his son is really scaring the protagonist now. Anyway, in the end the old man apparently knows what really happened and that his own son is the bad guy. I also wondered for a moment if he could bon with his son despite knowing, but this is (luckily) not the route they took. The ending then is really abrupt and it was probably the father shooting his son. If the son is dead or just injured, we do not known. There is also the small possibility that the son (i.e. the killer) is a really good and quick shooter and managed to draw his gun first and shoot the father. But it seems unlikely. He is not the most gifted fella it seems and also not too eager on killing somebody as he let the curly girl live despite saying otherwise and despite having the opportunity to shoot her. So would he really shoot his own father? Doubtful. I still wondered though why he decided to let the suspect get away initially. To hunt him like his father hunted animals? Because he actually did feel a bit of guilt? Not clear for me, but it made very little sense. And he protagonist is also not the smartest fella out there when he wonders how the police guy managed to blame him. Come on, it is so obvious and they also act as if it was rocked science when they present the solution to the audience.
Overall, this was certainly a film I found really underwhelming, especially towards the end. The moment the closing credits roll in with the shot we hear also feels like an embarrassingly showy way to end the film. It also felt as if they realized too late they reached the needed amount of minutes and ended it out of nowhere. So it's not only a fairly forced happy ending, but also an unrealistic one with everybody showing up there. They really thought they had depth and substance here, which is maybe the worst thing about it all. But the absence of talent, especially in the screenplay department, could not have been any more obvious. The good news is that with the cop being identified as the killer they could not / cannot turn this project into a recurring series with more episodes because the absence of good quality did not keep them in other scenarios, especially when it comes to the crime genre. Okay, I think I made my point and you're getting the message. It may sound all pretty harsh, but it's the truth. This was not even a remotely good watch. Worst rating possible and the only slightly positive thing I can say here is that there is a lot of other stuff out there from German television that is even weaker, but that is only because those are truly horrible and this one here is "only" terrible. Besides, they are mostly from other genres. For crime and drama, this is already pretty much as low as it gets. Absolutely skip and it's a shame this will probably be on national television for another five years, most likely more. This is what happens with your GEZ money, folks. And that is the real tragedy.
The title is not too easy to translate briefly, at least not by using three words as they did in German. "Out of the curve"? It is a metaphor to the protagonist's life here getting out of control as an old crime case is investigated again and he is the main suspect. Literally, it means a driver losing control over his car in a curve. The alternate title was "Verdacht" or "Suspicion" and that one I certainly like less than the one they went for, although there is not really that much reference here to behicales. The only one I can think of is the main character working at a store for bicycles, but there isn't even a scene in which a character is really on a bike. Before we move on to the plot, let's take a look at the cast. It says that they used many new and fresh faces for this film, which may be true, this alone is not a positive thing if these young actors aren't any good. The killer (as we find out in the end) is horrible in his final scene and don't blame his insanity for that. The actor was just limited there. Also the (original) girlfriend was not particularly good. The scene when she says she sleeps on the couch was pretty poor, especially her final statement that her body belongs to her. I mean this line was such bad writing, but the actress made it even worse by trying to go all-in. The better actors here are only mediocre too and this applies for example to the male protagonist, the suspect. Andreas Helgi Schmid or just Helgi Schmid and he looks a bit like David Goffin. The older ones are more interesting, Waldemar Kobus already through his physicality, even if he wasn't written great either and Ludger Pistor could hardly have been more wasted than he was in this movie. I like him quite a bit and I mean come on he was on Bond and this is what they give him? The other investigator and he loses all his groceries after shopping as they fall on the ground. Are you kidding me? Why would he even accept a part like this? Oh and there is a guy who looks a bit like Zack Michalowski and Dominique Horwitz, but I don't think it was one of the two.
As for the story, there are so many flaws here. It already begins with the pseudo important inclusion of the protagonist having nightmares that never played a role again later on. And why would the other guy investigate, almost on his own, in such a critical case if the prime suspect is somebody he knew very well when they were young? Prejudice anybody? They could have sent every other police officer there too. Or more than one to make it feel slightly realistic. It's a murder case come on. At least the final revelation somehow explains why the cop did not say something when they were partying the first time, but only when he arrives the next day. Still not particularlly good. There were many scenes that felt unauthentic and fake here. A great example would be the quick inclusion of a reporter and camera team trying to talk to the suspect. So random. Never something like this again before or after this scene. Other moments that were supposed to deliver a certain tension like the one when he talks to the kids at his girlfriend's school weren't terrible given the background of the crime, but still felt a bit clumsy. There he also has an argument with his girlfriend and this entire story of how the events had a severe impact on their relationship were something that did almost nothing for me. If they include something like this, they need to provide better elaboration and writing for sure. The inclusion of the other girl was something I did not like too much either, but it did get a bit better with her towards the end. But don't even get me started on the police officer's verbal drooling over the initial girlfriend. That was so embarrassing. And definitely not a vital element of a deep character study. The best friend at the bike shop well. The revelation about him and how he indirectly was involved with the whole case was another example of poor writing in my opinion. Other than that, he does not have much material, even if the character may be very showy. Me not liking him one bit probably also did not help the matter there, but that is subjective of course.
I already mentioned the ending. Now that was truly terrible. Honestly, before all that I wanted to give the film two stars more, i.e. a 2/5 instead a 2/10, but it was all so absurd that I have to take away another two stars. The revelation that he is the one who did it and also that he admits because he knows he will kill him anyway felt so false. Already mentioned the actor there and how he was really weak and over the top in that scene. But things do get worse when the woman with the curly hair shows up all of a sudden and we see she is not really dead. You can see that the film also wasn't gutsy. What happens next? The killer's father (Kobus) also shows up. Of course. It's a small world and in a twist of events he directs his rifle at his son, the police officer, and not at the protagonist he despised for quite some time as we saw earlier in this pretty exaggerated scenes with him that deal with trespassing and other stuff. Two scenes I think, also when the dadd in one brags about how his son is really scaring the protagonist now. Anyway, in the end the old man apparently knows what really happened and that his own son is the bad guy. I also wondered for a moment if he could bon with his son despite knowing, but this is (luckily) not the route they took. The ending then is really abrupt and it was probably the father shooting his son. If the son is dead or just injured, we do not known. There is also the small possibility that the son (i.e. the killer) is a really good and quick shooter and managed to draw his gun first and shoot the father. But it seems unlikely. He is not the most gifted fella it seems and also not too eager on killing somebody as he let the curly girl live despite saying otherwise and despite having the opportunity to shoot her. So would he really shoot his own father? Doubtful. I still wondered though why he decided to let the suspect get away initially. To hunt him like his father hunted animals? Because he actually did feel a bit of guilt? Not clear for me, but it made very little sense. And he protagonist is also not the smartest fella out there when he wonders how the police guy managed to blame him. Come on, it is so obvious and they also act as if it was rocked science when they present the solution to the audience.
Overall, this was certainly a film I found really underwhelming, especially towards the end. The moment the closing credits roll in with the shot we hear also feels like an embarrassingly showy way to end the film. It also felt as if they realized too late they reached the needed amount of minutes and ended it out of nowhere. So it's not only a fairly forced happy ending, but also an unrealistic one with everybody showing up there. They really thought they had depth and substance here, which is maybe the worst thing about it all. But the absence of talent, especially in the screenplay department, could not have been any more obvious. The good news is that with the cop being identified as the killer they could not / cannot turn this project into a recurring series with more episodes because the absence of good quality did not keep them in other scenarios, especially when it comes to the crime genre. Okay, I think I made my point and you're getting the message. It may sound all pretty harsh, but it's the truth. This was not even a remotely good watch. Worst rating possible and the only slightly positive thing I can say here is that there is a lot of other stuff out there from German television that is even weaker, but that is only because those are truly horrible and this one here is "only" terrible. Besides, they are mostly from other genres. For crime and drama, this is already pretty much as low as it gets. Absolutely skip and it's a shame this will probably be on national television for another five years, most likely more. This is what happens with your GEZ money, folks. And that is the real tragedy.
