Mon crime

A character piece from well-known and much loved French cast, with witty scripting and well crafted twists.

Charmingly shot and well edited, the costumes and make-up reflect the period. The individual players are well matched and clearly defined, very much within the scope of French culture. One aspect that this film scores highly on is that it is not too long - unlike many Hollywood films which are overpadded with repetitious effects.

Cinema is a medium that targets particular audiences and this film hits the bull's eye. If you instantly forget 90% of a particular genre, then don't watch it. If you don't watch it, don't comment...

What if one of Harvey Weinstein's victims, unable to fend off her attacker, just shot him through the head? Would that count as self-defence? And how would the court case about this crime look like?

This is one way of interpreting 'Mon Crime', the delightful new film by François Ozon. The similarities are too obvious to ignore. It's about a young, attractive actress visiting a powerful film producer in order to get a part in a new film. But during the interview, the producer turns out to be a sexual predator. She admits to having killed him with his own gun. During the court case, she uses all her acting abilities to convince the jury of her innocence.

The funny thing is, this is not a serious analysis of power and gender, but a screwball comedy set in 1930's Paris. It's hilarious, it's stylish, and it's full of razor sharp references to the present. Ozon captures the 1930's style of film making perfectly, including the exaggerated acting, the witty dialogues, and the continuous plot twists, one even more improbable than the other.

It's clear that Ozon had lots of fun making this movie. He inserted small films-within-the film (in silent-movie style), he used marvellous 30s locations (I recognized the Villa Empain in Brussels), he casted Isabelle Hupert in one of the most memorable parts of the film, and he lets the jokes continue, even during the end credits.

This is not a cutting-edge film which will blow you away. But it's a perfectly made, very entertaining movie which doesn't have any weak moments.

Set in Paris in the 1930s, Madeleine Verdier (Nadia Tereszkiewicz), is a talentless and bankrupt young actress. With a wide assortment of debt collectors lining up at her door, struggling actress Verdier is with her back to the wall. As a result, as if the cruel hardships of poverty weren't enough, the penniless artist now stands accused of murdering one of the city's most famous residents. Madeleine is accused of murdering a powerful and lascivious French producer named Montferrand. A media trial takes place in which she is defended by her roommate, a young lawyer, Pauline Mauléon (Rebecca Marder), without a job. Fame still waits but the truth is about to be discovered. After being acquitted, she begins her new life of fame and success, until the truth comes out.

French director Ozon adapts a forgotten Parisian play from 1934 for this comedy of entanglements, in the purest 'screwball comedy' style of Hollywood's golden age. Ozon starts from the murder of a powerful, unscrupulous producer at the hands of a young actress to create a sarcastic, vindictive and theatrical comedy full of script twists. Interpretations are passable, such as Nadia Tereszkiewicz as Madeleine Verdier, a young actress who's accused of murdering a famous producer, she's a compulsive liar who admits to a killing she didn't commit so her friend, a failed lawyer, finely played by Rebecca Mader, can clear her name and build a reputation for herself. These two young actresses are well accompanied by veteran actors , such as: Fabrice Luchini, Dany Boon, André Dussollier and Isabelle Huppert whose role was based on famous theater actress Sarah Bernhardt. The film pays tribute to Billy Wilder and his first movie: 'Mauvaise graine (Bad seed 1934)' when the two protagonists go to the cinema and Medeleine Verdier is mentioned in the news bulletin, before the projection of a movie, alongside real murderesses - the Papin sisters and Violette Nozière whose character was performed by Isabelle Huppert herself in the classic film 'Violette Noziere' directed by Claude Chabrol. According to director Ozon himself, this 'Mon crime' (2023) is the third part of a trilogy about the condition of women initiated by the film: '8 women' followed by 'Potiche', all of them are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on female sexuality. This 'Mon crime'(2023) is actually a loose rendition of the 1934 play "Mon crime", by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, which has already been adapted twice by Hollywood: 'Cross My Heart' (1946) by John Berry with Betty Hutton, Sonny Tufts, Ruth Donnelly, Rhys Williams and 'True confession' (1937) by Wesley Ruggles with Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, John Barrymore, Una Merkel, Porter Hall.

The film was professionally directed by Francois Ozon, but turned out to be a bit slow and implausible at times, not definitively engaging the viewer. Ozon is considered to be one of the best French filmmakers. His favorite director is Rainer Werner Fassbinder, that's why he made 'Peter Von Kant'. Ozon considers filmmaking a "parallel world", in which he flees the boring everyday life. Ozon calls actress Romola Garai his muse. Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2012 and he has won several prizes. Ozon is a prolific writer and director who has made all kinds of genres with penchant for drama and comedy, such as: ¨By the Grace of God' , 'Été 85', 'Le Refuge', 'Peter Von Kant', '5x2' , 'Angel', 'Dans la maison', 'Swimming pool' , 'Le temps qui reste', 'Criminal lovers', 'Everything Went Fine', 'Sitcom', among others.

I have to say that this is really fast and funny, right from the very beginning. The pretty and splendid girls, Nadia Tereskiewicz and Rebecca Marder are wonderful and his judge Fabrice Luchini just as funny. We know there is a killing but we are not absolutely sure what is going on, but it is amusing and very fast, back and forward all the time. We have the court, just as much fun as that and then we have a breather and we realise that it is half way through. Then it starts again probably even more fast but for me it becomes like a farce and a bit silly BUT at this point we get Isabelle Huppert. She is always excellent and with this one she plays it farcically and she is really good. For me the second half is not really so amazing as the first but certainly just as fast and Huppert is remarkable even awe-inspiring.

I laughed out loud almost in every scene, it's so simple and funny! Just loved it!

The feel is similar to Eight Women, even feels like it is a sort of a sequel, however the setting is different. The storyline turns unexpectedly, it's in a way similar to those absurd theater comedies though it doesn't look so. The acting is superb, grotesque-like style, especially when Isabelle Huppert appears all of a sudden, and then André Dussolier. And of course, under this being pseudo-light and superficial, there's definitely issues raised (and mocked, Ozon style): gender stereotypes, corrupt judicial system, personal values, etc. Enjoyed every minute of it and highly recommend!