Stillwater – Gegen jeden Verdacht (2021)

Stillwater – Gegen jeden Verdacht (2021). Stillwater – Gegen jeden Verdacht: Directed by Tom McCarthy. With Matt Damon, Camille Cottin, Abigail Breslin, Lilou Siauvaud. A father travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter, who is in prison for a murder she claims she didn’t commit.

“Very loosely inspired by the Amanda Knox case of an American student convicted of murder while studying abroad Tom McCarthyu0026#39;s STILLWATER follows itu0026#39;s own path for the majority of his screenplay (co-written with a trio of writers). Not only is the action transported from Italy to Marseille, France, but the focus isnu0026#39;t on the imprisoned young woman here named Allison (Abigail Breslin), but on her single father Bill (Matt Damon). The other main characters are Virginie, a single French woman (Camille Cottin) and her young daughter Maya (Lilou Siauvaud) who befriend and assistant the American as he tries to find the real killer.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBillu0026#39;s dogged pursuit of freeing his daughter may seem to have the makings of an international thriller, but, McCarthy is much more interested in creating a slow burn drama. Bill is an uneducated u0026#39;ugly Americanu0026#39; who has a history of personal failure. He roams around sporting a trucker hat even after temporarily moving to France to work on his daughteru0026#39;s release. At one point, one of Virginieu0026#39;s friends bluntly asks if he is Trump voter. Damon gives a strong performance as the determined Dad, even if he chiselu0026#39;s down the rough edges a bit too much at times. Breslin is good as are the pair of French actresses. The final scenes are quietly powerfully played by the quartet.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMcCarthy will never be considered a stylist, but, here, as in THE STATION AGENT, THE VISITOR and SPOTLIGHT he frames the actors well. Masanobu Takayanagi camerawork is solid in capturing the local color without being picturesque and Mychael Dannau0026#39;s score is effective without calling attention to itself. The movie could have used some tightening in the script and editing as the movie occasionally loses the focus of where itu0026#39;s going. Set aside the tabloid details of the true crime case and appreciate the understated presentation in STILLWATER.”