Par accident (2015) Reviews

• Angélique ,Une Amie Qui Vous Veut Du Bien.

  dbdumonteil2016-10-17

  "Par accident" appears first as a detective story with social concern a la Georges Simenon ,but it finally turns into a Boileau/Narcejac murder mystery ,with a car chase (between two women!) almost worthy of the Bronson's vehicle " De la Part Des Copains ". However the real meat here lies more in a face to face than in a thriller ,the unexpected twist being finally derivative .Two excellent actresses confront each other,directed by a woman director - women ,in the French cinema,make more and more their presence felt in the directing field-: Hafzsia Herzia -remarkable opposite Emmanuelle Beart in the depressing " Ma Compagne De Nuit "- gives a restrained performance of an immigrant without working papers ,fascinated by Angélique (what a well-chosen name!!),a well-wisher (some kind of female Harry from the memorable "Harry Un Ami Qui Vous Veut Du Bien" );her husband shows himself a weak man ,unable to support her through her ordeal:she really wears the pants. Emilie Dequenne shines in her part of an unscrupulous nurse ,happy- go-lucky, a crude so-called friend who little by little dominates the couple .More educated (although she claims she had an awful childhood,she nonetheless became a nurse),stalking male or female preys (she might have a lesbian side),she manipulates the poor girl ,already exploited by a smooth-tongued boss, who desperately struggles to remain a decent woman ;she's horrified when her evil genius talks about a little injection or when she casually says :"no matter?He's dead !"Angélique 's cynicism knows no bounds. The general critical opinion towards this movie added up to a consensus that it was a good thriller,but that the ending fell through ;I tend to agree with it,but both actresses 'playing makes the movie really worth watching.

• False witness

  searchanddestroy-12015-10-17

  A fair drama, but not more. Emilie Dequenne plays here a mysterious and very weird woman who claims to be the witness of a car accident when a young born Algerian female kills a pedestrian. The young woman and her husband thank a lot the witness who saved them, telling the authorities that this was not their fault. But everything gets awry when it appears that this witness fallen from the sky has never been on the place where the accident happened... So, what the whole thing is about? Why a false testimony, to prevent the young couple to be prosecuted? Emilie Dequenne is absolutely brilliant here, outstanding, she's a great actress. But I really don't understand why the author of the accident decides so desperately to denounce Dequenne to the police and then be prosecuted herself. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. OK, she suspects Dequenne to have committed a murder and using this false testimony as an alibi for her own crime, but no I don't get the whole thing. That upsets me. That annoys me.