Not to be confused by Le fil, the stage name of British artist and drag performer, Le Fil translates to THE THREAD, a French legal drama co-written, directed and starring by Daniel Auteuil and is an adaptation of Le Livre de Maitre Mo, a book of the legal experiences of French criminal lawyer and blogger Jean-Yves Moyart.
A compelling drama that explores the complexities of a murder trial where a man is accused of killing his wife. His lawyer must defend him against all odds, including his personal demons that seem to complicate the case even further. Its a tough challenge for the lawyer, who has become isolated, depressed and withdrawn. Auteuil plays Jean, a well ‘passed it’ defence lawyer who- ever since the discovery that he defended a killer who was found not guilty, and then went on to kill again, prefers to work as a prosecutor.
One evening he agrees to help his overcommitted wife and fellow lawyer Annie ( Sids Babett Knudsen) by meeting with Nicholas Milik, a shell-shocked father of five who has just been arrested for the murder of his troubled wife. Milik’s predicament inexplicably touches Jean.
The more he pieces together the case, the more he becomes convinced of Milik’s innocence. Soon Jean discoverers his passion for his vocation rekindled and becomes obsessed with exposing the real killer and exonerating himself from the guilt of his last case. From the opening scene, a glimpse of barbed wire in the grey sky, a police station at midnight, Auteuil sets about establishing the enormity of his legal challenge, and the institutionalised penal system devoid of reason and dislocated from hope.
Some may find it slow going at first, but like the harvesting of evidence, it takes time to evolve. What follows is a beautifully bleak journey into the heart of the French legal system, with no-one but the craggy-faced, dogged Auteuil to keep us from the inevitable.
Despite being shot in and around the Draguignax courts, not far from St Tropez, this is a south of France few will recognise. There’s not a lot of warmth, hope or humanity in the surrounding steel and concrete prisons, cul de sacs and courtrooms, certainly none of the wealth one would associate with this area, instead of light there is only the cold grey of a perpetual winter.
Played with simplistic elegance by Gregory Gadebois, Milik is a pathetic giant of a man who shuffles obediently and bewildered through scenes towards the next humiliation. Milik’s innocence and utter vulnerability becomes Monier’s unhealthy obsession. His wife tells him that his job is to defend his client, not be his saviour.
The film offers lingering grainy images that force us to focus on every detail hoping for a clue to what really happened. We are looking for something mysterious, unusual, hidden from ordinary view, but there is nothing. There is only the striking use of cinematic light, detailed wide shots and the haunting music of Bach. The way the film is edited, it’s filled with waiting and foreboding. Lots of close-ups convey the lawyer’s subtle emotions, reflecting his tendency to isolate himself when he’s feeling vulnerable.
Daniel Auteuil is an unsurpassed star, master of deep psychological cinema. Many thought The Adversary, was his crowning achievement, except he is getting subtler, deeper, darker and more visceral, if that’s possible. First rate performances from a stellar cast, THE THREAD packs a genuine punch with a conclusion lingering long after the credits have rolled.
