Secrets run deep.
2021-07-29
$20.0M
139 min
Bill Baker, an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma, travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, Allison, who is in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter.
I have always liked Matt Damon’s work, but I watched this partly die to the presence of Camille Cottin, who was excellent in the French Netflix series Call My Agent!
The main characters are complex, with Damon playing a redneck Oklahoma man and his daughter. Allison, played by Abigail Breslin. They all do fine work and there is a strong ensemble cast behind them. They do a good job mixing the captioned French dialogue with the English speakers.
The plot eventually relies upon a rather large coincidence, but the dialogue and script are crisp, so it all works. Don’t expect a sappy ending here. As in real life, some things work out and some don’t.
