Mea culpa (2014)
Franck and Simon are both good cops. They work as partners. But their lives take a tailspin when Simon, driving drunk, causes a tragic car wreck. A few years later, out of the police, he is... See full summary »
Director:
Fred Cavayé
Writers:
Fred Cavayé (scenario), Guillaume Lemans(scenario)
Stars:
Vincent Lindon, Gilles Lellouche, Nadine Labaki.
Story line
Franck and Simon are both good cops. They work as partners. But their lives take a tailspin when Simon, driving drunk, causes a tragic car wreck. A few years later, out of the police, he is forced to take matters into his own hands when his family is in danger.
User Reviews
Top-notch French thriller with a director at the top of his game
French director Fred Cavaye completes a hat-trick of exciting, exhausting thrillers with MEA CULPA, a film which pairs up the two heroes of his earlier films: namely Vincent Lindon from ANYTHING FOR HER and Giles Lellouche from POINT BLANK. These two larger-than-life characters are on the same side, battling a gang of murderous heroin smugglers in the south of France.
Cavaye has clearly learnt plenty from his classic POINT BLANK as MEA CULPA is a film in the same mould. There's barely a slow or extraneous moment here, just constant thrills and excitement as the plot twists and turns along and frenetic action sequences regularly punctuate the narrative with machine-gun precision. The cinematography is top notch and could quite easily show more than a few Hollywood directors how to shoot action that feels exciting, realistic, and fresh.
Lindon in particular gives an excellent performance with Lellouche happy to stand back and support him, and the supporting cast is well chosen too. There are moments of sentiment here, included in order for the characters and viewer to have something to care about, but the emphasis is on the action as it should be. Nightclubs, warehouses, and trains all provide perfect backdrops for the fast-paced and visceral thrills and what a thrilling movie MEA CULPA is.
