Verdict
Summary
A pretty solid French whodunit with a believable plot and a twisty sense of direction by Christian-Jaque, The Second Twin keeps itself engaging with committed performances and a searing sense of sadness that affects the dénouement of the film. A solid mystery with a good hook that maintains its urgency, this one had me going until the end.
Plot:
A single woman’s young suitor is murdered, with the prime suspect being another suitor, a married attorney.
Review:
Married and successful 40-year old attorney Pierre (Robert Hossein) falls hard when he meets pixie-cut blonde college student Nathalie, a med student paying her way through school by dancing and spinning records at a trendy nightclub where all the hip kids hang out at. Pierre, knowing the risks, plunges headfirst into a passionate love affair with her, knowing full well that she already has a boyfriend, who is ready to commit his life to her. After a few weeks of dating through the holiday, Pierre’s wife books his family a trip to Greece, which deeply wounds Nathalie, who feels betrayed by him, and while he’s gone with his family she tries reigniting her relationship with the man she recently dumped, which ends in her breaking the poor guy’s heart because she uses him to “feel something.” When Pierre returns from his trip, he threatens Nathalie with a gun (there are witnesses) when she threatens to dump him too, and the next day the other suitor is found shot to death outside his apartment, leading to the arrest of Pierre because he’s the clear suspect. He spends the next year in prison while awaiting his trail, and when he’s acquitted, he tries going back to his life, resuming his role as an attorney, which proves complicated when everyone in his life – no thanks to all the media attention he’s received – still thinks he’s a murderer. The truth will eventually come to light.
A pretty solid French whodunit with a believable plot and a twisty sense of direction by Christian-Jaque, The Second Twin keeps itself engaging with committed performances and a searing sense of sadness that affects the dénouement of the film. A solid mystery with a good hook that maintains its urgency, this one had me going until the end.
Kino Lorber brings The Second Twin to Blu-ray, and it comes in a strong new 4K restoration, plus a new audio commentary by a film critic.
