Review by John P. Harvey and Michele E. Hawkins.

3.5/5

François Schaar (Daneil Auteuil), with an evidently strained relationship with his wife, Astrid (Emmanuelle Devos), has been working for years as the lawyer representing the parents of young murder victims.  It’s a big case and a difficult topic for all concerned, and both François and Astrid attempt to shield their overprivileged, truculent teenage son, Raphaël (Mattheu Galoux), from it and to keep up the appearance of living normal lives.  But that’s difficult under the relentless scrutiny of reporters constantly camped outside the gate.

Into this tense situation comes the news that a relative has been speaking to François and Astrid’s daughter, Caroline (Louise Chevillotte), of his decision to press charges against François over something that occurred many years earlier.

Deeply held secrets threaten to destroy the already thin fabric holding the family in place.  Pressure mounts on all sides as François tries to meet the demands of his work, the constant media frenzy, and his inner demons; Astrid attempts to shield Raphaël from the consequences of his own misdemeanours and to protect François from the repercussions of past problems; and Raphaël, though self-centred and self-absorbed, becomes aware that something’s going on and wants to know what.

At this point, Raphaël’s sister, Caroline, decides to act, with devastating consequences.

Altogether convincingly acted, A Silence showcases Auteuil and Devos in roles that they play to perfection, sometimes through the subtlest of facial expressions, such as in remarkably conquering inner turmoil to remain still in the face of interrogation, in controlling fury, in the hard-won fight against sadness and disappointment, and in showing the character’s world one face but the audience another.  And Auteuil’s success is the more remarkable due to the evident unsuitability of a character with François’s background to an actor of Auteuil’s sensibilities.  The film also debuts the acting talents of Matthieu Galoux in his unwaveringly convincing portrayal of Raphaël, a character he cannot have liked at all.

This is a dark story based on a true one, and as such is disturbing in confronting the viewer with the prospect that those we believe to be good and worthy people may not be.  But the film also raises uncomfortable questions, such as what we should do about the good done by a person whose dark side has been revealed.

Complex and tense, A Silence will provoke thought.

Screening at Palace cinemas.