THE “WORLD’S” OPINION – MUST SEE
The first quarter of an hour Leave the nightthe beautiful title of Delphine Girard’s first feature film, is a prodigious thriller with just the right amount of mystery and suspense: it is quite simply taken from the multi-award winning short film by the young Belgian director, A sister (2018), nominated for an Oscar in 2020. The first image plunges us onto the asphalt of a road lit by headlights. A car speeding away at night, a man and a woman, and not a word between them. He drives, his gaze fixed, she ends up saying that she must call her sister, who looks after her daughter and has tried to contact her several times. The camera is placed behind the two thirty-somethings and leaves plenty of space for the dialogue to take place. The man ends up getting impatient: ” Who are you talking to ? »
On the other end of the line, a police operator. We discover her at her office, located at the top of a tower, in an open space where agents take emergency calls. At first, she doesn’t understand. Who is this woman who asks for news of her little one, and tells her that she will be home soon? “Are you free to speak?” ” ” No. » A race against time follows during which the operator, Anna (Veerle Baetens), tries, with her colleagues, to geographically locate the vehicle, then sends the police to pick up the driver. At the sight of the flashing light, he understands that he is cooked and surrenders.
Magnetic game
This precise story is inspired by a real story that happened in the United States, the director having discovered it thanks to a call recorded on YouTube. Leave the night is an extension of the short film, the film examining the days, weeks and months that follow this evening, up to the rape trial. Originally, Aly (Selma Alaoui) meets Dary (Guillaume Duhesme), a professional firefighter, during an evening in a café. They like it, decide to go elsewhere, hit the road, continue drinking. Then the situation escalates and Dary forces Aly to have sex.
We will truly discover this rape later, like a flash coming back. The filmmaker gives the characters time to reveal themselves, to become aware of the actions, and of the ground that is slipping away under their feet.
The density of the first minutes gives way to the story of a daily life weighed down by hangovers. Will Aly file a complaint, will she be believed? The film probes the moods of the victim and the aggressor, but also of the police officer. Anna cannot be content with having “saved” the young woman from a distance, thanks to her understanding of the situation. She wants to know what is happening to her and begins to investigate discreetly, going beyond the scope of her mission.
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