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The lost son

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Xavier Lombard (Daniel Auteuil) is a French private detective, living alone in London with a tank full of goldfish and a heart full of bitter memories. Once a valued member of a Paris narcotics squad, he is now reduced to spying on behalf of jealous husbands and supplementing his fees by shaking down their unfaithful wives. But hard-bitten cynic that he is, even Lombard is unprepared for the grotesque underworld into which one phone call from his old colleague Carlos (Ciarán Hinds) will plunge him.

Also starring Nastassja Kinski as Deborah Spitz, Katrin Cartlidge as Emily, Marianne Denicourt as Nathalie, Bruce Greenwood as Friedman, Billie Whitelaw as Mrs Spitz and Cyril Shaps as Mr Spitz. Written by Eric Leclere and Margaret Leclere, directed by Chris Menges.

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The lost son official movie site

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Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

More than I bargained for.

With a title like this and propaganda like that you'd be forgiven for thinking that this would just be one of those "son runs off to play in the underworld" films. And you wouldn't be far wrong, but there's the underworld and there's The Underworld. One is full of dangerous but funny hoods, the other is full of people who will kill you without blinking. The lost son is one of the latter.

To spoil the surprise for you, the seamy underlife of London drags Xavier deeper and deeper into a world of prostitution, paedophilia, murder and betrayal. Trust becomes a luxury rather than an option. Death waits around every corner. Cool.

Daniel is good as the anti-hero: tired, damaged, street wise and compassionate. All the other characters bounce off his so there's a lot of weight on his shoulders, but his performance is solid enough to withstand the pressure. Nastassja plays a spoilt rich girl with more depth than you'd give her credit for (what with being a sex symbol and all) while Marianne's big bucks call girl is so pragmatic about her life that she is beyond having to make excuses for it. The real kudos, however goes to the children who play the victims of an international paedophile ring: they capture impossibly well the sense of innocence betrayed.

As far as being a private dick movie goes, The lost son manages to observe the rules of the genre without being overwhelmed by them. There are good twists, good characters and strong resolutions that will keep you entertained from go to whoa. The paedophile business is so well done that it disgusted one of my flatmates (who was still disgusted after watching it twice) and will have a good, hard poke into your morals as well.

The lost son is a mesmerising mystery that will keep you guessing right up to the thrilling final scene. Ooops, I've been reading too many film covers again.