Review of “The Crime is Mine” – Isabelle Huppert and Co indulge in Ozon’s frothy French crime captains | film

PAris, 1935. Penniless aspiring actress Madeleine Verdier (Nadia Tereszkiewicz, whose impeccable performance consists almost entirely of pouts, shrugs and eye rolls) has just pleaded guilty to the murder of an influential theater producer. But in the sensational trial in which Madeleine is defended by her roommate, the newly graduated law student Pauline Mauléon (Rebecca Marder), Madeleine is unexpectedly acquitted. However, that’s just the beginning of the story in François Ozon’s latest work, which tackles gender politics and the fickle focus of celebrity without losing a tone of endearingly frothy insouciance.

This is Ozon at his most playful and mysterious – there are similarities with his film 8 women And Potiche – but also his most frivolous and expendable. The crime is mine is a sparkling, frivolous confection and a charming change – it’s worth watching just because of the extremely chic costumes. It’s undeniably amusing, but there’s little real humor to be seen in this deliberately ironic take on the French farce. This is less important than it should be, because the entire cast is clearly having a lot of fun with this lively crime comedy – none more so than Isabelle Huppert, who imperiously enters the third act in a cloud of frizzy red curls and wonderfully confident posture film enters. important absurdity. To reveal more about her character would be to defuse the film’s mischievous (and, it must be said, somewhat contrived) twist, but Huppert is supremely silly, deliciously funny, and definitely worth the price of admission.