Francois Ozon directs The Crime is Mine, which will catch audiences by surprise as it is one of the most fun releases of this year.
Ozon gives audiences a “who done it” – however the twist is the friendship duo of Madeleine Verddier and Pauline Mauleon both decide who can get framed for murder.
As Madeleine takes the fall for killing the predatory producer who offered her a role in a theatre production, Pauline defends her in court as they both decide to cash in on the murder.
Ozon decides to completely run with it, which works fantastically. Seeing these two friends outfox everyone that – to be honest – we as an audience want them to get away with it.
Especially when Odette is introduced as a thorn in their side – who is more than a match for our two friends which opens a fun dynamic that they are now dealing with someone who is equally as good at playing the game.
The humour is great. Madeleine saying to her boyfriend “is your father dead?” then “disappointed, that’s not good news.” Judge Gustave going on his tangent about “this building is the hall of justice.”
The wardrobe department gets a special mention as fashion completely meets the 1930s aesthetic. Jean Rabasse is the production designer.
Now, performance wise, the key reason why audiences will enjoy The Crime is Mine is that Nadia Tereszkiewicz as Madeleine and Rebecca Marder as Pauline are a great double act – especially in the courtroom sequence.
Nadia puts on a great performance. No wonder the jury let Madeleine out – and Rebecca gives an incredible closing statement as Pauline that is the cherry on top.
Both were great – that’s what makes audiences want to see them succeed. It feels very much like Thelma and Louise (1991).
Issabelle Huppert is really fun as Odette who is a really good counter foil to our two tricksters.
Very great supporting cast in Fabrice Luchni as Gustave, Darryl Boon as Fernand Palmarede and Oliver Broche as Trapu.
Overall, The Crime is Mine is one of the year’s most fun films that will leave audiences with a smile on their face.
