The Greatest Trick

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed anything since Van Helsing (which, let’s face it, was a bit paltry in the words department, even if the sentiment was strong enough for a full review), and we’ve watched a few movies over the summer (not as many as you’d expect, though, considering how free my time should be). So here’s the first. This is a rather odd French action / fantasy / horror / thriller with Jean Reno (always worth a look) which begins with a woman having her brain tested and ends with a gangster shoot-out. Watching it is a little like being battered around the head by every movie genre imaginable and seeing what sticks when the bruises fade. Sadly, not a great deal in the long run.

Anna is having mental problems - flashing horrific images, gaps in her memory - and the doctors treating her aren’t doing much to help. She becomes convinced there’s more to her problems, and goes on a mission to find out. Concurrently, a young but successful police detective is investigating a series of very unpleasant murders with a pattern - all red-heads, killed brutally, and with links to Paris’ immigrant Turkish population. Which is where Jean Reno comes in as the ageing cop who has worked the Turkish turf for many years, and understands their ways and culture somewhat better than many others. A bit too well, in fact. The stories eventually collide, and when they do a whole new direction for the movie is discovered.

Really, there are two perfectly good films here, but director Chris Nahon has just tried to pack so many of his good ideas into one script that it comes off feeling messy and overblown, and without firm direction. It’s also something of a travelogue through some of Paris’ lesser-known sights, including the cemetery at Pere Lachaise where a crucial scene takes place. The horror elements at the start are effective and disturbing, and the murder mystery is serviceable too. But when the film delves into memory replacement, conspiracy theories and guru-worship, it’s all a bit too much. Jean Reno is fine, if unremarkable, and the rest of the cast do their best with the script, but it’s possible that they didn’t really know which direction they were going to be going on the next day’s shooting.

If you’re sensitive to unpleasant violence you would do well to avoid, and honestly this one’s probably only for the Reno completist. Everyone else should catch up on other priorities.