The Collini Case

A rookie defence lawyer takes on a bizarre murder case in director Marco Kreuzpaintner's earnest, if ponderous adaptation of a Ferdinand von Schirach bestseller. Set in Germany in 2001, the action contains flashbacks to two previous eras, as newly qualified Caspar Leinen (Elyas M'Barek) seeks to discover why taciturn Italian Fabrizio Collini (Franco Nero) gunned down industrialist Hans Meyer (Manfred Zapatka) in a Berlin hotel room. Complicating matters is the fact that Leinen regarded Meyer as a surrogate father after a family tragedy, and was sweet on his granddaughter (Alexandra Maria Lara). Notwithstanding the knotty plot points, nothing quite slots into place; the fussy editing strategy deadens the courtroom suspense, as Leinen finds himself up against his old college professor (Heiner Lauterbach). The performances are as accomplished as the photography and production design, but, for all the moral heft of the finale, the film lacks that Grishamesque slickness.