Mea Culpa (2014)

Directed by: Fred Cavayé
Country: France

Movie Review: Film director Fred Cavayé is automatically associated to French action-thriller cinema, with three feature films, all belonging to the mentioned genre. If “Anything For Her” and “Point Blank” still provided some credibility and enjoyment, “Mea Culpa” failed to convince, mixing crime thriller and family drama in a mediocre way. Simon (Vincent Lindon) and Franck (Gilles Lellouche), two good friends and partners in the police of Toulon, are tired but happy after finishing another tiresome mission. When driving home, they have a car accident that victimizes two persons, one of them a child. Simon who was driving under the effect of alcohol is arrested and forced to abandon his career, while Franck continues being a cop. Years later, Simon gets out of jail, realizing he has nothing left – no job, no family. Divorced and disoriented, he decides to make an effort to bond with his 9-year-old son, Theo, who accidentally becomes witness of a dreadful murder perpetrated by the Mafia. A terrible situation, since the gang comes after the kid, a new target to wipe out, and Simon will have to do the impossible to protect his family. The busy yet unoriginal script, didn’t present anything we haven’t seen before, while the execution, relying on agitated action scenes that revealed to be merely baits to catch the eye, adopts an overused Americanized style that Cavayé should avoid in the future. With such a bustle, there was no space left for a decent suspenseful atmosphere, and “Mea Culpa” loses itself in its huge ambition for becoming spectacular. A disappointment both as a thriller and family drama.