The Crime is Mine (2023) | Dir. François Ozon
Courtesy of Music Box Films
Written by: Belle McIntyre
Here is another example of the virtuosity and unpredictability of the mercurial François Ozon. Stylistically and visually it resembles the 1937 Hollywood screwball comedy True Confessions on which it is based which starred Carol Lombard as (no surprise) a glamorous blond actress implicated in a crime of passion.
Courtesy of Music Box Films
Ozon’s version is set in 1930’s depression era Paris where two young women are struggling to pay the rent on their cramped studio apartment where they have to share a bed. Madeleine Verdier (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) is an alluring blond aspiring actress who is running the gauntlet of auditions and rejections with little encouragement and increasing anxiety over finances. Her best friend and roommate Pauline Mauléon (Rebecca Marder) is a newly-minted lawyer with no clients, scarce prospects and dwindling resources. Both women are attractive, inevitably stylishly dressed and well-groomed in spite of their dire straits. They maintain a breezy optimism and blithely avoid obstacles with great élan.
Courtesy of Music Box Films
The most promising opportunity comes to Madeleine when she gets a meeting with a big producer who shows serious interest in her talent. It should come as no surprise that the creepy Harvey Weinstein-ish producer, M. Bonnard (André Dussollier) attempts to sexually assault her before she manages to escape his clutches. Alas, poor Madeleine. Not only does she not get the job, M. Bonnard is found murdered and she is the obvious suspect.
Courtesy of Music Box Films
And now things get interesting in a very twisted Ozon-ish way. Both friends get the chance to ply their trades. The deck is stacked against Madeleine absent another suspect. Pauline, by far the brightest bulb of these two, concocts a brazen scenario for Madeleine to admit to the murder as an act of self defense. Pauline writes the script for Madeleine to present to the jury. Pauline’s first job as a lawyer is also Madeleine’s first serious acting job. The unlikely plan works. Madeleine Is exonerated and the trial becomes a cause cèlebre. Both careers are launched.
Courtesy of Music Box Films
But Ozon is not finished with this story. In a final twist, enter Odette Chaumette (Isabelle Huppert), an over-the top and way past her prime silent film star (think Norma Desmond) who has a sordid past with M. Bonnard and a serious ax to grind. She is jealous of Madeleine’s notoriety and threatens to expose her with blackmail. I will not reveal the convoluted finale. But, I will say, the film is fast paced, with marvelous production values, engaging performances and delightful to watch.
