La Mante

I enjoyed watching this series and was really impressed with the quality of the acting, especially with Carole Bouquet, Fred Teston and Manon Azem. While the plot has some unrealistic elements, the relationship between the mother and son was portrayed with emotion and was compelling to watch. I have seen many thrillers (The Fall, The Killing, The Disappearance), but have not seen this particular mother/son dynamic before. I ended up binge-watching this series, something that I don't normally do. For this reason, I am rating it as a 9. I hope that there will be a second season.

Carole Bouquet, a glam star from past decades, plays a Mom doing a life term for a series of brutal killings. Her son, Damien, is a senior investigator with Paris police, who are investigating a series of copycat killings. He has a drop- dead pretty wife, who would like to start a new family, but Damien is haunted by the mess in his family background (try a serial killer Mom & an abusive dad who 'disappeared' sometime before her spree began).

Problem is: they stare a lot. Damien has an explosive temper and often throws hissy fits when his wife asks for clarification or compassion.

Anyway, we have a couple of major plot twists and a few scenes you might want to fast-forward, and a thrilling climax. Not as good as the Korean entries on Netflix, surprisingly, but a good way to burn a weekend with this 6-parter.i

I have watched probably 50 of these various style of foreign noir series. Everything from The Bridge, Penoza, Trapped to Spiral (Engrenages}. Some are obviously much better than others; some are awful in spite of their inexplicable popularity. And some of the best ones fell though the cracks, like "Arne Dahl"; which I accidentally stumbled upon on an obscure review site.

They sure don't make 'em like they used to. I've had to lower my standards.

If you enjoy those types of shows than this series fits into the "worth a watch" bundle. Watchable, but it's not on the same par with Engrenages, that's for sure.

It looks and feels like a copycat of Spiral (Engrenages) to me. But, the special FX are almost distractedly bad for a modern show, sort of unintentionally funny. But the story line is good, and most of the cast plays their roles very well.

My only real problem with the show is the "soap opera" production style. it has a bit of the "General Hospital" kind of vibe. Dramatic pauses, over dressed, freshly painted stage-looking sets, overly choreographed and sorta overacted.

Some of the details are just plain stupid. For example: If a woman has been in a solitary confinement prison cell for 25 years, why is her hair and makeup absolutely perfect? She looks like an executive that just stepped out of a corporate boardroom. Her prison cell is nicer than some luxury hotels I've stayed in. That almost killed it for me in the first 15 minutes of episode #1.

In spite of all this, I have to admit that it kept me watching. I'm not finished with the whole series, but thought I'd chime in with an opinion.

My wife and I really enjoyed this series. Yes, there were some flaws: a few stupid decisions by the police and a little overacting; but overall it was a great series with a complicated plot that in the end made sense. This is one of the better detective series we have found recently and I would definitely recommend it.

This series should be marked under the "not bad but could have been so much better" category.

In terms of the positives. The editing is quite good and the pace is kept up quite well. The score does a very good job of raising the tension at the appropriate moments. The cinematography is high quality and the series overall was very well shot.

Now to the less than positive points. First off the premise is not very original and in the end very contrived. Its as if someone took the plotlines of Silence of the Lambs (using an imprisoned serial killer to catch their admirer), Seven (a serial killer who ritually tortures their victims as punishment) and Copycat (a serial killer imitating the crimes of a convicted murderer).

Secondly, the characters are all pretty one dimensional and the acting is actually quite flat. Carole Bouquet is as cold and distant as ever, meaning it is difficult to feel anything for her, positively or negatively. Fred Testot, who plays her son, mopes around and seems pointedly uninteresting as a character. Its hard to see from this what his wife saw in him. The other characters are pretty much stereotypes (the grizzled police chief, the disgruntled/resentful partner who was passed over for promotion, the deranged serial killer, etc).

Lastly some of the plot lines stretch credibility a bit too far. For example, France's most notorious serial killer is left with only one guard. The police decide race to rescue the serial killer' victims by racing across Paris only to arrive too late instead of calling for local backup.

All in all, with a bit more originality in the scenario and a tighter script, this could have been excellent.