Pour elle

With his wife(17 years younger, hotter and less brooding) stuck in jail facing 20 years for a murder she clearly did not commit(and all the evidence against her is circumstantial... do French police suck this hard? In general, they are painted in a rather negative light in this, quite unnecessarily), Julien(the swimming teacher from Welcome) seeks to free her so that they can be reunited and spend the rest of their lives together, and with their son(who, other than badly needing to wear a cowbell, doesn't contribute much to this other than being "cute" and a single running theme overly easily solved... and it's not the only thing this sets up that doesn't lead to anything). High hopes aside, he's only a schoolteacher... could he really pull it off? The gradual pace leaves this feeling longer than the 96 minute running time, though it is quite tense and fairly gripping. You care about these people, and you definitely *feel* the impact of every blow dealt. The exciting third act has you so consistently on the edge of your seat, you're liable to fall off. Throughout, this is filmed and edited well. All of the performances are excellent... including the six-year-old(no, really). Part of the way, this is realistic, and it certainly does surprise you. The writing is mostly solid. There is a little brutal, bloody violence in this. I recommend it to fans of crime-thrillers. 7/10