This TV movie makes me angry because I'm tired of seeing Audrey Fleurot acting in stories that waste her talent. I found it interesting that another reviewer noticed what I did as well, namely, the actress was wearing a wig (and not a very good one either). In fact, the wig was SO bad, it was distracting.
It appears to me that French filmmakers are afraid of casting Fleurot as a strong, wilful woman. We saw hints of that power in Engrenages, but it was immediately quashed with scenes of her wimping and crying. Ughhhh.
It is that denial of Fleurot's dramatic potential which is particularly frustrating in this movie. After all, the character she plays is A MARINE. So, if ever there was the possibility for releasing Fleurot's inner shrew, THIS WAS THE PART.
Alas, what we got instead was a buttoned-down version of Josephine Karlsson. A reviewer said it was confusing. And to a certain extent that is true. But the real underlying problem with this story is, the screenwriters bit off more than they could chew and added the element that the prime suspect and the Fleurot's character were not only related, but in fact brother and sister. This is a TV movie lasting only one and a half hours. You can't add an unnecessary complexity like that in a story lasting 90 minutes without confusing people and creating a Cinderella fantasy type of atmosphere.
The film wastes valuable screen time exploring a brother/sister relationship that we don't really care about. Instead of plunging headlong into Navel Officer Berken's relationship with her commanding officers and the many ways they attempt to thwart her effort to solve the case.
This film could have been SO much better. But my guess is, they would have needed a German or Dutch director to pull that off. Because the story takes place on a naval base, there were tremendous possibilities for dark and troubling atmospherics but NONE of that took place with the exception of somewhat briefly during the climax, which was really botched imho. The climax lacked thorough stunt choreography and dramatic angle coverage. So the filmmakers failed to heighten the suspense and maximize the tension before the resolution.
Yes friends, this is a French film. So everything is kissy, kissy at the end. All that was missing was for the brother and sister to break out singing a chorus of "We are Family" by the Pointer Sisters.
If this story had been told over several episodes, then there would have been room to include a brother/sister bad relationship subplot. But given the limited screen time, the filmmakers threw too many balls up in the air. And sure . . . In the end they're all caught - but not gracefully.
