Hot on the heels of Tell No One comes another slickly directed and sturdily acted Parisian thriller about a middle-aged bourgeois man being framed for murder. Based on a English novel by Ted 'Get Carter' Lewis, and written and directed by Eric Brazier, The Serpent concerns a self-absorbed photographer Mandel (Yvan Attal) on the verge of divorcing his wealthy German wife. Enter the psychopathic Plender (Clovis Cornillac), a former classmate obsessed with avenging Mandel for a traumatic childhood experience.

Taking its name from the tattoo sported by the diabolical Plender, The Serpent doesn't expend its energies on exploring nuances or ambiguities in its characters. Brazier clearly relishes showing the life of his ostensible hero crumble before our eyes: falsely accused of rape by a model, Mandel discovers the woman's body in his car, making him the prime suspect for the police. Meanwhile private investigator Plender is inveigling himself into the confidence of the snapper's family.

"ATMOSPHERIC USE OF ITS URBAN LOCATIONS"

Admittedly, The Serpent makes atmospheric use of its urban locations, such as the old-fashioned cemetery, which is the resting place of Plender's beloved mother, whose final instructions to her son were, "Wash away the shame". But the more overblown the film becomes - for example Mandel's wildly improbable escape from police custody or the climactic hand-to-hand confrontation between the adversaries in the old asylum - the less it engages our emotions.