“Do you have a firm conviction?” this tricky question is asked to jury members from the French equivalent of Crown Court to determine the eventual guilt of a presumed-innocent. Is firm conviction enough to avoid a judiciary mistake? It is what director Antoine Raimbault asks in his striking first feature film by delivering a romanticised version of an appeal trial concerning the alleged murder of Suzanne Viguier by her husband Jacques.

Since Nora (Marina Foïs) witnessed Jacques Viguier’s trial, she is convinced of his innocence. Fearing a judiciary mistake during the appeal, she persuades leading lawyer Dupont-Moretti (Olivier Gourmet) to defend him. Together, they are going to lead a dogged fight against injustice. However, while the noose is tightening around the suspect’s neck, Nora’s quest for truth turns into an obsession.

The film succeeds a daring gamble by delivering a witness directly inspired from a criminal affair which shocked France and is still unresolved to this day. Faithful adaptation about a judiciary system which reproduces its own convictions instead of confronting them; this drama is lived as a thriller. We are taken by the main character’s fight and experience the trial as we witness it. The staging is conscientious; the director only implicates characters who took part in the original trial with an important exception: Nora herself, who is entirely fictive. This is where the film’s ingenuity lies: by letting an imaginary character intervene as the main protagonist, the movie is able to confront reality without being trapped by bias and factual mistakes.

Played by an uncannily accurate Marina Foïs, who interprets a single mother desiring to seek truth, she progressively becomes a real incarnation of justice; reflecting criminal justice’s misguided ways, errors and weaknesses. Olivier Gourmet whose voice, physical appearance and charisma corresponds impeccably with the lawyer’s character, nicknamed “The North Ogre”, is absolutely brilliant. The emotions transcribed are true, the writing is gauged, offering us the punctilious staging of a French trial.

“Conviction” is a global achievement that nothing could tarnish, except perhaps some lengthy parts. Proof of its deserving success, the movie had been under threat of censorship because one of the real-life’s protagonists feared for his image. I could not advise you more than to immerse yourself in this affair and build your own firm conviction.

Director: Antoine Raimbault
Writers: Karim Dridi (original idea), Isabelle Lazard (adaptation)
Stars: Marina Foïs, Olivier Gourmet, Laurent Lucas
Aurélien Petit
Latest posts by Aurélien Petit (see all)