Scene of the Crime Reviews

A French provincial upper-class thriller which revolves around the 13-year-old Thomas (Giraudi) and his beautiful mother Lili (Deneuve), as both their lives are transformed by the arrival of a Martin (Stanczak), a handsome but disheveled criminal. Martin, acting with an accomplice, threatens to hurt the boy if he does not bring him some money. Instead of acting in fear, the rebellious Thomas complies. However, when Martin's accomplice tries to kill the boy, wrongly believing he informed on them, Martin, in turn, kills his own partner. Eventually, Lili, who feels bonded to Martin since he saved Thomas' life, falls in love with the criminal. Martin's third accomplice, a frightening young woman (Nebout), is determined not to lose Martin to Lili. A thriller with an uneasy sexual tension, SCENE OF THE CRIME functions on many levels, concentrating on the interdependent relationships among the characters. Deneuve, whose excellence as an actress is superceded only by her beauty, is a marvel and Darrieux, the grande dame of French cinema is also excellent as the family matriarch. (In French; English subtitles.)