The Thread

One of France’s most beloved and awarded actors, the remarkable Daniel Auteuil is also an accomplished writer and director in his own right, and the engrossing new legal thriller THE THREAD finds him once again in top form. Auteuil stars as Jean Monier, a well-past his prime defence lawyer who – ever since discovering he was responsible for a killer being exonerated – now prefers to work as a prosecutor. But one evening Jean agrees to help his over-committed wife and fellow counsel Annie (Sidse Babett Knudsen) by meeting with Nicolas Milik (Grégory Gadebois), a shell-shocked father of five who has just been arrested for the murder of his troubled wife. Milik’s predicament inexplicably touches Jean; the more he pieces together the events of the night in question, the more he becomes convinced of Milik’s innocence. Soon Jean rediscovers his passion for his vocation, and becomes obsessed with exposing the killer. Characterised by typically first-rate performances from its stellar cast, this pulled-from-the-headlines drama - based on true events and adapted from the memoirs of lawyer-turned-bestselling author Jean-Yves Moyart - is a gripping exploration of guilt, conceit and the slippery nature of justice. A major word of mouth hit at the French box office in late 2024, THE THREAD packs a genuine punch, with a conclusion that lingers long after the credits have rolled.