Absorbing court drama
Premiering at the 2024 Cannes International Film Festival, The Thread sees French veteran award-winning actor Daniel Auteuil in brilliant form in this absorbing court drama that holds the audience’s attention to the announcement of the verdict and beyond.
Based on the true story from Jean-Yves Moyart’s book Le Livre de Maître Mô, The Thread begins as well seasoned but declining defense lawyer Jean Monier (Daniel Auteuil) takes on a case from his wife, an over-worked fellow legal counsel, Annie Debret (Sidse Babett Knudsen). Jean meets the accused, Nicolas Milik (Grégory Gadebois), who is the father of five children and has been arrested for the murder of his heavy-drinking wife. Jean is convinced that Nicholas is innocent and becomes obsessed with proving it and rediscovers his passion for his profession which had been waning since he had helped to exonerate a killer fifteen years beforehand. The film moves through the gripping court case as Jean tries to defend his client.
Daniel Auteuil’s acting credentials are outstanding having won a BAFTA, a Cannes International Film award for Best Actor, two acting César Awards as well as other acting awards. In The Thread he not only plays the lead role but he also co-wrote the film (with Steven Mitz) and directs it. The Thread is his fifth directorial outing but after his last (The Other Woman) he didn’t think he would direct again unless “an irresistible need to narrate a story overtook” him. This he discovered when his daughter Nelly (who co-produces the film) introduced him to the blog of the late lawyer, Jean-Yves Moyart, and he was struck by the “solitude inherent to the profession of a lawyer—the final ally standing beside the accused amidst a sea of adversaries.” Auteuil, as director and co-writer, expertly delivers the story and images of The Thread.
Auteuil’s skills as an actor are irrefutable and The Thread provides another example. Grégory Gadebois was cast as Nicolas because, as Auteuil describes, he encapsulated the character’s “juxtaposition of adult fragility and childlike innocence”. Gadebois delivers an outstanding performance. Both are very well supported by Sidse Babett Knudsen as Annie, Gaëtan Roussel as Roger and the rest of the first-rate cast.
The Thread explores guilt and justice as Daniel Auteuil (as lead actor, co-writer and director) skillfully and methodically takes this court drama thriller on an intriguing journey to the conclusion where the truth is ultimately exposed.
Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
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