The Crime Is Mine

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.

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...

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.

With the BERLINALE 2002 classic 8 WOMEN, Francois OZON has already proven that excellent films can be made from tabloid pieces.

In Paris in the 1930s, two friends live in unsuccessfulness and abject poverty. One is an untalented actress (Nadia TERESZKIEWICZ), the other an unemployed lawyer (Rebecca MARDER). One day the actress is mistakenly suspected of having murdered an influential producer. Although she is innocent, she admits to the murder and is brought to justice. Represented by her friend, she achieved an acquittal. A triumph for both women! From now on there will be a hail of offers and mandates for both. But then the sophisticated Odette Chaumette (great as always: GOLDEN GLOBE winner and ACADEMY AWARD nominee Isabelle HUPPERT) appears: a faded silent film star who has not mastered the transition to sound films...

This charming morality play is based on a play by Georges BERR and Louis VERNEUIL. In 1937, Hollywood had already become aware of the clever material: TRUE CONFESSION (1937) with Carole LOMBARD and Fred MacMURRAY!

Established vedettes (film stars in French) like Fabrice LUCHINI, Dany BOON and Andre DUSSOLIER, but also young stars like Edouard SULPICE and Felix LEFEBVRE shine in the OZON version. In France, the film has already attracted more than a million visitors to the cinemas.

Once again a convincing piece of cinematic fun from France!

I've always preferred Francois Ozon when he's in a playful mood and he's certainly in a playful mood here revamping a creaky old play by George Berr and Louis Verneuil that's already been filmed twice before and giving it a bright new glow, dispensing with realism from the start. "Mon Crime" is definitely an old-fashioned comedy-thriller with nary a thrill to be found, silly enough to keep a soppy grin on our faces for most of its running time.

The daft plot has young actress Nadia Tereszkiewicz accused of murdering an over-sexed producer only to be defended in court, in something of a parody of "Roxie Hart", by her roommate and best friend Rebecca Marder and that's just the half of it. It's totally daft and thoroughly delightful with a superb performance from Fabrice Luchini as the investigating judge and if that's not enough there's always Isabelle Huppert as a wildly over-the-top actress insisting on her day in court. Minor Ozon but even minor Ozon can be a real treat.