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A man is accused of murdering his wife. His lawyer must defend him against all odds, and especially against himself.

I&#39;ve watched the movie as part of Cinelibri 2024 and it was one of the best for this year&#39;s selection. The movie is great because the whole time you are convinced that you are watching another criminal case that reinforces the belief of the injustice of the judicial system, the pressure on the jury and the prejudice in the people...but how wrong it will turn out to be. As a lawyer, from the very beginning I was convinced of innocence and discrediting the case... at some point I decided that the father was covering up the two children for the murder and therefore did not want them to testify, but the end of the film is a masterpiece, it makes you think about your own beliefs and perceptions, and how much you don&#39;t know even those closest to you and their motives.

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An Ordinary Case

Let me start by saying that I felt literally sick after the film, and I&#39;m still sick now. Like Auteuil&#39;s character. I&#39;ve never experienced anything like this after a film. I already knew Daniel Auteuil was the unsurpassed star, the master of deep psychological cinema. I thought The Adversary was his crown achievement. And it probably is - except, he&#39;s getting subtler, deeper, darker, and more visceral, if possible. At first, Le Fil did not impress me much - I was &quot;unimpressed&quot; for more than an hour. The subversion got me: I thought it was &quot;an ordinary case&quot;, and this directorial effort by Auteuil - another lighthearted teasing of the bourgeoisie on his part. I had even allowed myself to think Auteuil was fond of the bourgeoisie. But how could he make something as shattering as Le Fil, and indeed his other dark and nauseating roles, if he didn&#39;t catch a deep breath, be it even with silliness? Auteuil&#39;s character in Le Fil is a small man, I thought, who somehow shrinks as the story progresses. He is vague, he doesn&#39;t make much sense, and I assumed him simply indifferent. It turns out even worse, if possible. He trusts the worst of the worst of mankind, assuming the best in them. Genuinely trusting them and doing his best to convince others. Horrifically succeeding, and after a grandiose failure in the past which taught him nothing, being stopped in the case at hand only thanks to an astute judge. He throws up, because his &quot;box of fantasies&quot; is shaken. But it doesn&#39;t stop there. He has to face the revolting pit of humanity... which is perhaps its dwelling. (Jaspers&#39; criticism of Freud comes to mind, namely why stir the cesspool of himanity; I lately think humanity is a cesspool). That there&#39;s a reason for psychological deviation and abuse which may not necessarily be &quot;evil&quot;, is Evil itself. The ordinary evil. The shatterer of innocence. The world is so screwed up, and I can&#39;t applaud Daniel Auteuil enough for his daring; for his exquisite, understated psychologism; for not only getting under my skin (I think he lives there), but for wrenching my guts. We can hope for catharsis, for healing... what else is left there.

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An Ordinary Case

Great movie

Grand Master Auteuil

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