France 2 is broadcasting “12 years, 7 months, 11 days” this Wednesday evening, a gripping television drama about a mother’s obsession with the death of another’s child. With Julie Gayet and Marie Denarnaud.
In the often predictable landscape of French television, certain programs still manage to surprise, move, or even disrupt. This is the case of the TV movie 12 years, 7 months and 11 daysbroadcast on France 2 at 9:10 p.m. this Wednesday, which should captivate viewers with a poignant story, carried by staging and great performances from the actresses.
12 years, 7 month, 11 days follows a storyline that will be difficult to put down. Although she was found innocent of the accident that caused Raphaël’s death at the age of 12 years, 7 months and 11 days, Inès Zerouali (Marie Denarnaud) still feels guilty for the boy’s death. To the point of being convinced that Lucie Coubert (Julie Gayet), Raphaël’s mother wants revenge and attacks her son, Théo, the day he will in turn be 12 years, 7 months and 11 days old. This fear obsesses her to the point of distancing her from her husband, Mehdi, who finally filed for divorce. The famous, dreaded day arrives and Inès, determined to protect her son, hides him in a cabin deep in a forest, long enough to go and confront Lucie. His plan is clear: obtain her confession and convince her to give up her revenge. However, even the most elaborate plans are never safe from a small grain of sand that can stop everything…
In this high-intensity psychological thriller, the peaceful calm of the forest will quickly contrast with the tension which rises inexorably throughout the story and sometimes turns, beyond the confrontation, into a crossed portrait of two women on the edge of the abyss.
A plot taken from a novel?
If, as with every tragic TV film, the question of the true story arises, the plot of 12 years, 7 month, 11 days is taken from a novel by Lorris Murail, “Twelve years, seven months and eleven days”, published in 2015 (Pocket Jeunesse). It’s Alexandre Coffre, already at work in the cinema for Eyjafjallajökull, Santa Or The Adventures of Spirou and Fantasiobut also for a few episodes of Little Murders by Agatha Christiewhich loosely adapted this story for television.
Without dwelling on the precedent between the two women, the scenario leads us almost directly to this fateful day when Inès, fearing for the life of her son, decides to hide him away from the eyes of the world and to confront Lucie, convinced that she -she wants to kill her child. The climax of a tension cleverly established from the start of the story.
In 12 years, 7 month, 11 days the actresses, Marie Denarnaud and Julie Gayet, offer powerful and intense performances praised by several critics. Denarnaud, moving, embodies this mother consumed by an animal fear which borders on madness, while Gayet, as a mother who has lost her footing, responds to her with a falsely calm strength. In addition to the performance of the two main actresses, reviews praised the direction and photography which contribute to the oppressive atmosphere, with effects of light which reflect the inner torments of the characters.