"Ein Mann unter Verdacht" (which means "A Man under Suspicion", pretty general title, but it's fine) is a German television film from summer 2016, so slightly over a year until this one has its 5th anniversary. The writer is Stefan Kolditz and he does not have a perfect career, but pretty solid for sure and he was almost already penning scripts when his director here, Thomas Stuber, was born. Still, Stuber is far from a rookie either and he is slightly under 40 now, a little younger back then. This film got actress Petra Schmidt-Schaller some awards recognition and it is alright because she was pretty good and after all it as not just for this film. She is second lead probably behind Marc Waschke. The most interesting cast member for me from these 90 minutes was probably Peter Kurth as I like him and recognize him immediately. He played a cop here, one of the two cops trying to make sure that Waschke's character is found guilty for the murder of his wife. But did he really do it? It does not seem entirely clear I'd say. One of the film's biggest strengths was that you could never know where this was heading. Was Schmidt-Schaller involved with the murder? Was there even a killing? What's up with the flight to Spain? etc. Actually, my guess was even that PSS perhaps staged it all with the "victim" to get rid of the husband and have a romantic relationship with the woman. But this is not how things turned out eventually. Maybe I thought it mostly because of the oh so random reference that the two women were also a couple (or at least intimate with each other) back in the day, which was really soemthing they should have left out. It did not make the film more interesting in any way. But this is just a minot criticism. My biggest criticism is actually about the ending. So so bad how she gives that speech and supports the public prosecutor's office in the sense of that he should be found guilty. Why oh why did they take this route? It made no sense at all and almost ruined a movie that had a certain aura of "Gone Girl" to it before that, even if PSS was closer to Pike's character than the missing wife. Anyway, back to the ending: We have to keep in mind that the woman had no scruples whatsoever for the entire film. She got out these brutes at the very beginning and then caused by a single quote and question linked to the law (and this question definitely did not work as a confession the way they want us to believe it did) and how you cannot be taken to court for the same crime twice, she decides to basically sacrifice all her professional integrity for "doing the right thing" and backstab a close friend that she may even have feelings for. It makes no sense and even I as a Kurth fan cannot say that moments like how he talks to the lawyer at the pub led us to this bizarre twist in any realistic fashion.
Luckily, everything before that catastrophic closure is pretty decent. I watched another German crime thriller the day before yesterday and almost lost my faith in the genre when it comes to German films, but this one here brings it kinda back at least. This film had some nice strengths. The story is pretty simple, not too many characters needed and those who are included, such as the grandpa who hates his son-in-law, are a bit stereotypical, but still work well, also because all the performances are pretty decent. It kept me curious and engaged from beginning to end. I also liked how they displayed the actual happenings that night the same time how they are talked about. This is no 100% solution or actual explanation, just a depiction. The best example is that we have several elaborations on how the victim cut herself and the blood ended up on the floor. Actually, we do not find out safely if he really did it, even if everything points that direction, so you could even say there is a bit of a happy ending. Too bad it wasn't an authentic ending and I explained earlier why I think so. The father-son story is also alright, but never a big component of the film and that is fine, also because to me the child actor was not too gifted. Okay what else can I say here. Oh yes Hans Löw is in this movie too, he also has great recognition value as always in the last half hour, even if maybe the scene with him and PSS at the pub was not among the better sequences from this film. He is still more talented than Jogi. Here and there, something is a bit rushed like the sexual abuse reference and the police work is also not always 100% convincing, but all in all the film still felt realistic enough and, even more, entertaining enough that I shall give it a thumbs-up. My suggestion here is that you give this one a watch. It's worth it. Not sure though there are subtitles for people outside German-speaking countries, but if you speak the language, then go for it. I think it is also available for a while online now after it was shown on television today, so if you read this review still in March 2020, be quick to get it.
Luckily, everything before that catastrophic closure is pretty decent. I watched another German crime thriller the day before yesterday and almost lost my faith in the genre when it comes to German films, but this one here brings it kinda back at least. This film had some nice strengths. The story is pretty simple, not too many characters needed and those who are included, such as the grandpa who hates his son-in-law, are a bit stereotypical, but still work well, also because all the performances are pretty decent. It kept me curious and engaged from beginning to end. I also liked how they displayed the actual happenings that night the same time how they are talked about. This is no 100% solution or actual explanation, just a depiction. The best example is that we have several elaborations on how the victim cut herself and the blood ended up on the floor. Actually, we do not find out safely if he really did it, even if everything points that direction, so you could even say there is a bit of a happy ending. Too bad it wasn't an authentic ending and I explained earlier why I think so. The father-son story is also alright, but never a big component of the film and that is fine, also because to me the child actor was not too gifted. Okay what else can I say here. Oh yes Hans Löw is in this movie too, he also has great recognition value as always in the last half hour, even if maybe the scene with him and PSS at the pub was not among the better sequences from this film. He is still more talented than Jogi. Here and there, something is a bit rushed like the sexual abuse reference and the police work is also not always 100% convincing, but all in all the film still felt realistic enough and, even more, entertaining enough that I shall give it a thumbs-up. My suggestion here is that you give this one a watch. It's worth it. Not sure though there are subtitles for people outside German-speaking countries, but if you speak the language, then go for it. I think it is also available for a while online now after it was shown on television today, so if you read this review still in March 2020, be quick to get it.
