It begins as an ordinary family outing to the beach. Then things turn dark as 17-year-old Lise, from a wealthy middle-class family, comes under investigation following the death of her best friend. As her parents (Chiara Mastroianni and Roschdy Zem) deal with the trauma in different ways, Lise is required to account for a way of life that doesn't always fit the morality approved of by the justice system. This third feature by writer-director Stéphane Demoustier is a razor-sh... (Full plot summary below)
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It begins as an ordinary family outing to the beach. Then things turn dark as 17-year-old Lise, from a wealthy middle-class family, comes under investigation following the death of her best friend. As her parents (Chiara Mastroianni and Roschdy Zem) deal with the trauma in different ways, Lise is required to account for a way of life that doesn't always fit the morality approved of by the justice system. This third feature by writer-director Stéphane Demoustier is a razor-sharp judicial drama and a superb cast includes Anaïs Demoustier, on top form as an implacable prosecuting counsel. And as Lise, newcomer Melissa Guers offers a mesmerizing performance as the young woman whose very self is the mystery under investigation.
Leave your thoughts about The Girl with a Bracelet.
| The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeDemoustier dangles doubts, but also raises questions about the difference between judgment and justice. The score acts as our guide through the story: neat, self-possessed string arrangements occasionally fray into something jagged, raw-edged and nervy. |
| The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerWhat Demoustier has done here, and done quite successfully, is taken a basic mystery plot, like something out of a TV movie, and used it to ponder how each one of us could react to a ghastly crime, and how we expect others to react in turn. |
| CineVueChristopher MachellDespite its bland paperback title, French writer-director Stéphane Demoustier proves hasty assumptions wrong with his gripping, thoughtful third feature, courtroom drama The Girl with a Bracelet. |
| NMENick LevineThe Girl with a Bracelet is a clever, relevant film which makes you question the way society expects young women to behave. |
| VarietyGuy LodgeThe Girl With a Bracelet comments intelligently on our culture’s propensity to sex-shame and emotionally instruct young women in particular — points which stand regardless of whether shedunnit or not. |
| The GuardianPeter BradshawViewers may be split on the question of exactly how satisfying it all is in the end. The performances are strong. |
