651. Love Crime (Crime d'amour)

It was Christmas Eve and we were on the run - between Cineworld and Broadway in Nottingham.
Life Of Pi ended at Cineworld at 5.45pm, the time at which Love Crime was scheduled to start at Broadway, five minutes away.
There should have been no problem because of the usual 20 minutes of trailers.
However, when we arrived at Broadway the cash desk was deserted.
We searched the bar for a member of staff and after a quick check to see if the cashiers were around, he presumed they must have gone for the evening, guided us to screen 2 and said: "It's Christmas, so you can go in for nothing."
This was something of a relief because this was our only chance to seen Kristin Scott Thomas's latest French movie.
It is a rare occasion that a Scott Thomas picture has let me down since I first fell in love with her during Four Weddings And A Funeral.
Here, she plays a manipulative office executive who feeds off the brilliance of her staff to feather her nest.
Indeed, she is also a woman without conscience away from the office, getting her own way in bed as well as at work.
Her character is so utterly despicable in Alain Corneau's movie that I was silently pleading for her comeuppance, despite my adoration of Kristin.
The main butt of her spite is a beautiful and highly intelligent underling, played by Ludivine Sagnier whose ideas she, shamelessly, passes off as her own.
She strings the poor lass along, pledging her a paradise of rewards but when her promises go unfulfilled, her protege decides to make a move of her own.
Thus, Love Crime becomes a metaphorical joust between two powerful women.
It is a thriller which is beautifully acted and which has several sublime twists and, ultimately, I was surprised that we enjoyed it just as much as the Life Of Pi.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: yes
Nudity: oh, come on it's a French film... a flash of private skin is virtually compulsory.
Overall rating: 7/10