La Proie (The Prey)
30/01/16 Filed in: Amazon Prime
I was so keen to see the end of this film that I prolonged my exercise bike session until it had finished. Well over an hour and a half. I normally watch a film over two sessions.
This was another Amazon Prime offering and I must say that the French films that I've watched on Prime so far have all been very good. This was no exception.
Franck Adrien, a convicted bank robber, shares a cell with John-Louis Maurel, who's been accused of rape but professes his innocence. Adrien is the only one who knows where the bank heist loot is hidden and a group of other prisoners are intent on making him reveal where it's hidden. With the collusion of the guards Adrien is continually physically harassed by these prisoners.
Maurel is also a victim of harassment, but in his case because of his crime. At one point Adrien defends him, and when it transpires that Maurel is to be released, because his accuser has supposedly retracted her evidence, Adrien asks him to convey a message to his wife, this being a coded message that will allow her to find the loot.
Maurel, however, is far from innocent, and he and his wife collude to abscond with Adrien's young daughter, illegally adopting her as their own child, while also making off with the bank money. Adrien is visited by a former gendarme who tells him of his fears about Maurel being a serial sex offender and worried for his family's safety, Adrien escapes prison and sets out to find Maurel.
This was another Amazon Prime offering and I must say that the French films that I've watched on Prime so far have all been very good. This was no exception.
Franck Adrien, a convicted bank robber, shares a cell with John-Louis Maurel, who's been accused of rape but professes his innocence. Adrien is the only one who knows where the bank heist loot is hidden and a group of other prisoners are intent on making him reveal where it's hidden. With the collusion of the guards Adrien is continually physically harassed by these prisoners.
Maurel is also a victim of harassment, but in his case because of his crime. At one point Adrien defends him, and when it transpires that Maurel is to be released, because his accuser has supposedly retracted her evidence, Adrien asks him to convey a message to his wife, this being a coded message that will allow her to find the loot.
Maurel, however, is far from innocent, and he and his wife collude to abscond with Adrien's young daughter, illegally adopting her as their own child, while also making off with the bank money. Adrien is visited by a former gendarme who tells him of his fears about Maurel being a serial sex offender and worried for his family's safety, Adrien escapes prison and sets out to find Maurel.
Maurel, however, sets things up to frame Adrien as the sex offender, and a major police operation is put in place to arrest him. Clare Linné is the officer in charge, who at a certain point begins to suspect that Adrien isn't perhaps guilty of the crimes, but her boss is not convinced.
A cat and mouse situation unfolds as Adrien pursues Maurel while Linné pursues Adrien. It's pretty gripping stuff, ending in the village of Chassaigne (in real life Sospel) where Maurel has bought a house and is acting as a good neighbour, despite killing another 16-year-old girl and an innocent man who happens to get in the way.
The ending is a cliff-hanger (literally) and one is left with a half-answered question as to what happened to Adrien, although the very last scene provides us with a good clue.
I must say that if Clare Linné was chasing me I would probably give myself up at the earliest opportunity. Surely there aren't any real police officers that look like that!
A cat and mouse situation unfolds as Adrien pursues Maurel while Linné pursues Adrien. It's pretty gripping stuff, ending in the village of Chassaigne (in real life Sospel) where Maurel has bought a house and is acting as a good neighbour, despite killing another 16-year-old girl and an innocent man who happens to get in the way.
The ending is a cliff-hanger (literally) and one is left with a half-answered question as to what happened to Adrien, although the very last scene provides us with a good clue.
I must say that if Clare Linné was chasing me I would probably give myself up at the earliest opportunity. Surely there aren't any real police officers that look like that!