Playing Dead

An amusingly twisty murder mystery with darkly comic overtones, Jean-Paul Salomé's film would likely resist a Hollywood remake since it's based on an unusual practice in the French judicial system that allows a magistrate to re-enact a crime, with the participation of the accused perpetrator, to test whether a case holds water. In this instance, neophyte prosecutor Noémie Desfontaines (Géraldine Nakache) wishes to analyze the confession of a man who claims to have killed two brothers at an Alpine ski resort. To play the victims she hires actor Jean Renault (François Damiens), a former star whose career derailed due to his insufferably perfectionist attitude. Naturally, he proves resistant to direction, pointing out holes in the prosecution's case while also undertaking his own investigations—which point toward other possible culprits, as well as a motive tied to a long-ago death (and possibly involving official corruption). At the same time, however, Jean and Noémie begin to harbor feelings that could blossom into romance. Playing Dead is somewhat contrived (plenty of suspects are on hand, and the killer naturally turns out to be someone you'd never suspect, with a pretty far-out motive), but it's entertaining, overall, with loads of beautiful scenery. Recommended. (F. Swietek)