The Girl with a Bracelet

Somewhere among the end titles we are informed that the script by director Stéphane Demoustier has been "librement adapté du scénario original de Acusada écrit par Gonzalo Tobal and Ulises Porra Guardiola." In fact, this film is a remake of Acusada (The Accused) a 2018 Argentine movie.

The subject in both movies is the trial of the post-adolescent daughter of upper middle class parents as the main suspect in the murder of her best friend. The depiction of the trial, however, is different. In Acusada, the point was to show that truly competent/unscrupulous lawyers (generally, only accessible to the rich) can confuse the issues in a criminal trial, using all means at their disposal including the news media. The resulting uncertainty makes a reasonable verdict unlikely, which brings to mind real life examples such as O. J. Simpson's trial. In this movie. however, lawyers' behavior is unimpeachable and not the source of the uncertainty at the end. Another (minor) difference is that in Acusada the verdict is decided by a panel of judges (as customary in Argentina) rather than by a jury as in France and many other countries. Finally, episodes that were creepy in Acusada are toned down here.

This said this movie (remake or not) deserves a viewing. Lisa, the accused, is played to perfection by Melissa Guers. Except for television interviews this is her only acting credit so far and most likely the beginning of a brilliant career. Roschdy Zem and Chiara Mastroianni show their usual excellence as Lisa's parents, and so does Anaïs Demoustier as the prosecuting attorney. Script and direction are smooth and seamless. The differences with Acusada may justify to tell the story a second time.