5/5

Review by John P. Harvey.

Dog 51 is set in Paris in a not-too-distant future in which police operations — along with most other societal functions — are effectively directed by an artificial intelligence named ALMA. When ALMA’s inventor is murdered in a relatively safe location in the city’s most aflluent zone, evident connections with the city’s most underprivileged zone lead Detective Salia Malberg (Adèle Exarchopoulos) to partner with that zone’s Detective Zem Brecht (Gilles Lellouche) to investigate it.

The evidence, as ALMA interprets it for Salia, points toward an underground movement dedicated to unseating ALMA, and the police minister, Théo Rimarval (Romain Duris), sets Salia and Zem firmly on the trail of its leader, Jon Mafram (Louis Garrel).

But not all is as it seems in this high-tech world, and Mafram has some surprises for them.

So, though, does ALMA.

The versatility of both Lellouche and Exarchopoulos shows itself in the pairing of the two in a police team that, coming from opposite sides of the tracks, shouldn’t work and possibly is intended not to work but does work. Equally convincing acting by Garrel as the reformist leader and Duris in his few appearances as the police minister has turned a fine plot and a nuanced script into a riveting, utterly believable thriller.

Suspense throughout the film is nearly constant, and goes into overdrive with high-paced action supported by flawless special effects. And this makes the story’s more tender moments all the more precious.

Filmed with close attention to action choreography, facial expressions, futuristic hardware, and computer simulations, and lifted by an intense score by composer Guillaume Roussel, Dog 51 is a totally engaging thrill ride — and a lesson in A.I. trustworthiness. Don’t miss it.

Screening at Palace cinemas.