An Unsolved Murder Leads to Unsettling Questions in ‘The Night of the 12th’

Cold cases fascinate owing to their unresolved mysteries and unending theories. Television series, movies, books, podcasts, and documentaries all track missing person or murder cases, with some recreating those that were solved only after many years. The new French movie “The Night of the 12th” focuses on one such cold case, though certain events have been fictionalized. Beginning with the murder of a young woman involving flammable liquid and fire, the plot soon has lead detective Yohan on the scene with his team. The setting is the Maurienne valley in the French Alps, and with its mountain-topped backgrounds, slightly industrialized areas, and small-town feel, viewers may be reminded of “Twin Peaks,” especially its first season. The location isn’t the only similarity with David Lynch’s influential murder mystery; a promiscuous murder victim, a secret-keeping best friend, an initially hysterical and then mute mother, and the later mention of a blue flower all hint that the filmmakers purposefully incorporated some of its elements.Police procedurals have a tendency to indulge in clichés, and the filmmakers of “The Night of the 12th” include a few of them, like the hardened partner and the naive new detective. It also can’t help but feel a bit rote when suspect after suspect appears, with Yohan and his team grilling them appropriately yet fruitlessly. Where the film separates itself from the cold-case-as-entertainment industrial complex is in its details, or lack thereof, such as when it shows the investigators bogged down with paperwork (“We fight evil by filing reports,” one says), or when they decide to tap some suspects’ phones with nary a mention of a warrant. The movie’s central thesis starts to materialize during a fantastic scene between Yohan and the murder victim’s closest friend Nanie. The perceptive young woman challenges the suggestion implicit in Yohan’s questions, that the victim, Clara, slept around and therefore committed an unspoken infraction that called for revenge. While Yohan purports to be neutral and just following all leads, Nanie’s questioning of the modus operandi of detective work leads the movie to further investigate male/female relations.In one particularly unsettling scene, we see Yohan unable to sleep due to the case, and flashes of each of the main suspects’ faces are superimposed over the detective’s while certain of their incriminating statements are heard again on the soundtrack. Not only an effective illustration of the investigative method of matching one’s mind to the murdering mindset, the eerie shots also reinforce the film’s view that all men, including our mild-mannered protagonist, have the potential for violence against women. As Yohan, actor Bastien Bouillon can come off as stiff, yet both his facial seriousness and physical formality work when one considers that he’s playing a young detective recently made the head of a team. He has yet to prove himself as a capable leader, and the disturbing circumstances of his first big case inhibit congenial relations with his fellow investigators. For his performance, Mr. Bouillon won Most Promising Actor at the recent César awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars. The movie also won five other awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Dominik Moll.In its final 30 minutes, “The Night of the 12th” jumps ahead to three years later. Yohan is no longer working on the case and his detective team now includes a woman. A female judge reaches out to him to re-open the case, and soon we get another suspect to consider. Additional dialogue addresses the rift between women and men, but by this point the movie is merely repeating what it has already made clear via its visuals and earlier conversations. Incongruously, the film ends on an upbeat note, yet what filmgoers will remember most is its pessimistic take on sexual politics and frank, if overstated, depiction of toxic masculinity.

An Unsolved Murder Leads to Unsettling Questions in ‘The Night of the 12th’

More from the New York Sun

Let Some Oil Tankers Sail Through the Strait of Hormuz — World Oil Prices Will Retreat Big Time

‘What Is Chabad Exactly?’

On Taxes in New York, It’s Mamdani v. Hochul

‘Hoppers’ is the Best Pixar Film of the Decade

Florida Senate Advances Bill To Let State Leaders Designate Groups as Terrorists After Federal Judge Blocks Effort by DeSantis

One Week In, Will Trump and Netanyahu Have Time To Finish Reshaping the Mideast and the World?

State Department Says Charter Flights Are Evacuating Hundreds of Americans Stranded in Middle East

Mayor Mamdani’s Wife Liked Posts Cheering on Hamas’s October 7 Massacre: Report