La Clef (2007)

After watching Ne Le Dis a Personne, I am eager to see more French mystery thrillers and while La Clef pales in comparison to Ne Le Dis, I'm still sold on the genre.

French heartthrob Guillaume Canet plays a Éric, an orphaned yet successful member of society with a girlfriend and a decent job. He receives a mysterious phone call that connects him to his deceased biological father. The mystery of his birth and origins begins to unfold amidst 1970's crime. The tale is told with flashbacks to the investigators of the original crime related to Éric's birth.

The story is intelligent enough and the characters possess enough pathos to elicit genuine reaction from viewers. It is difficult to pin down what is lacking in the film as it is really well made. Perhaps some of it goes a little overboard making it unrealistically terrifying - or maybe it's too realistic?

IMDB