The winner of six César Awards (the French equivalent of the Oscars), including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, “The Night of the 12th” (“La nuit du 12”) is one of the most unorthodox and original police procedurals I’ve ever seen. It eschews convention and steadfastly ignores the recognized tropes of the crime mystery blueprint. For those reasons alone, it should be seen by all fans of that genre.
Adapted from Pauline Guéna’s fact-inspired novel “18.3 – Une année à la PJ” by director Dominik Moll and his co-writer Gilles Marchand, “12th” is very good on a number of levels. Moll’s composition skills are perfect for the material. The movie has an appropriate claustrophobic feel; even the exterior shots come off as restricted and confining.
That’s (Most of) the Good News
The filmmakers make two mistakes within the first five minutes: one of them minor and excusable, the other gargantuan and nearly fatal. Regarding the former, text appears after the opening credits. The first sentence reads: “There are 800 murders committed in France every year.” If you exclude the 2021 number of 1,175, that figure (an average from 2011 through 2020) is fairly accurate. No harm, no foul there.I choose not to reveal the wording of the second sentence here because it, in every way possible, totally spoils the ending. We’re told of what ultimately happens (or doesn’t happen) in the end before the first word of dialogue is uttered or an on-screen crime is depicted. The filmmakers steal every last boom of their own thunder in fewer than two steps out of the starting gate. Had these sentences appeared at the end of the live-action and before the closing credits, they would have had a monumentally throttling effect.
Beginning very specifically at 9:36 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016, the film opens with the retirement party of a police captain. This scene serves no purpose other than introducing Yohan as the new captain.
Following this is a quick cut to Clara Royer (Lula Cotton-Frapier) leaving a party and walking toward her parents’ home. She shoots and sends a video on the way to her friend (and party host) Stéphanie (Pauline Serieys). In an effort to preserve as much surprise as possible, I won’t reveal how Clara is murdered, but it is quick and effectively disturbing. Presenting the murder halfway through and in flashback form instead of revealing it so early on would have greatly increased its impact.
The Blame Game
When this type of character—a young woman practicing a multiple partner lifestyle—is assaulted or murdered, far too many movie detectives take a “blame the victim” position. Think of the main plot in “The Accused.” This is certainly not the case in “12th.”Moll and Marchand’s crowning achievement here is just how authentically they write the detectives. Yohan, Marceau, and the half-dozen or so other investigators don’t view Clara as just another statistic. They follow through on every lead, and most of them go nowhere. Their frustration is palpable, and their dedication to finding the perpetrator is beyond moving.
One particular scene taking place after the identification of Clara’s body is especially telling and not something you usually find in most crime procedurals. Just prior to informing Clara’s parents, one agent asks another to be the one to give her mother the bad news. While looking down and shuffling his feet, the agent says that investigating a graphic crime scene is far easier than telling parents their child has been murdered.
Despite its strengths, “The Night of the 12th” is a supreme example of what can happen to a movie when a filmmaker takes all the wind out of his own sails before even leaving the dock.
