In the Name of My Daughter tells the real life story of the events leading to the disappearance of Agnès Le Roux, daughter of the rich casino owner Renée Le Roux during 70’s French Riviera.
Legendary french actress Catherine Deneuve plays the mother Renée, but it’s Adèle Haenel (Agnès) who shines and gives an outstanding performance. The screenplay, adapted from a book by Renée, also focuses quite a bit on Maurice Agnelet, the number one suspect who also worked at the casino.
The film follows the events chronologically, with Agnès first meeting Maurice, falling in love and the course of their relationship. As Maurice is a lawyer and also an legal adviser, In the Name of My Daughter quickly becomes about the business; angry employees, board meetings, and then more polemic topics such as bribery and even mafia.
It might’ve worked better if there were two timelines, a past and present one, because it’s only on the third act that Agnès disappears and the movie suddenly changes quite a bit, and begin narrating a few legal battles between Renée and Maurice.
Director André Téchiné gives In the Name of my Daughter a technically cold approach, with abrupt cuts and fast dialogues, though that’s a common aspect of investigative movies.
Interesting but not enthralling.
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