Xavier
Racine is aloof and judgmental, but that is his job. He is a French criminal
judge. Racine acts like he was born to wear ermine robes, but his personal life
is a bit of a train wreck. However, he will only open up to the Danish anesthetist
from his past who has been summoned to serve as a juror. Jury duty is indeed a sophisticated
pleasure throughout Christian Vincent’s Courted
(trailer
here), which
screens during the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
Even
when Racine is in the best of moods, he is never the sort of presiding judge a
defendant would want to appear before. To make matters worse, the jurist is
suffering from a persistent flu and an even pricklier attitude, stemming from
his pending divorce. The defendant, Martial Beclan, would appear to be up merde’s
creek, especially considering the nature of the crime he stands accused of.
Allegedly, Beclan stomped his infant daughter to death with his combat boots.
Yes, it should be a fun case.
Then
Racine notices the final alternate juror selected. She would be Ditte
Lorensen-Coteret, who helped save the judge’s life following his heart attack
several years ago. Racine was interested enough to pursue her, but it just didn’t
work out. Evidently, courtroom procedures are a little looser in France,
because he immediately reconnects with Lorensen-Coteret, sparing little concern
for appearances. Suddenly, this trial does not look so bad to Racine.
Frankly,
it doesn’t look so bad to us either, thanks to the wonderfully mature and
inviting chemistry shared by co-leads Fabrice Luchini and Sidse Babett Knudsen.
The supercilious Racine might sound like the sort wry, slightly nebbish comedic
role Luchini practically owns the patent on, but there is nothing rote about
his performance. He creates a real flesh-and-blood character, who turns out to
be considerably deeper than his colleagues realize. The scene in which he
informally explains their place in the legal system to the jury should be seen
by everyone in the Academy’s acting division.
Likewise,
Knudsen is wonderfully warm and sly as Lorensen-Coteret. Viewers really can see
the grim courtroom light-up when she walks in. She plays with and off Luchini
perfectly, but she also develops a charming, down-to-earth rapport with Eva
Lallier, playing her manageably rebellious teen daughter Ann.
