"Scenes de Crime" is an unpleasant neo noir about a teenage girl who inexplicably disappears, and a pair of forensic investigators that try to solve a crime.

"Scenes de Crime" begins by delving into the day to day affairs of a pretty and popular teenage girl named Marie. When she disappears without a trace police begin to investigate, and a body is found that could be her. Initially, she seems like a normal girl-next-door but information comes out which hints that she was leading a double life. The situation is reminiscent of Laura Palmer's story on the "Twin Peaks" television series but it is not nearly as well developed. Some of the clues in the case include a magazine covered with Marie's blood, a canine corpse, and several headless human bodies. The investigation unearths a murder conspiracy that has perplexed Belgian police officers for nearly a decade.

The film stars the talented dramatic actor, Charles Berling. He is very well known in France but American audiences will probably recognize him for his fine performance in "Ridicule." Berling is one of the few actors to receive three César nominations in a row.

The characters here are sketchily drawn and difficult to like, and the murder mystery is not original or emotionally involving. There are a few too many repulsively graphic autopsy scenes, and the film plays like a low rent version of "Seven" or "Silence of the Lambs." "Scenes de Crime" fails to reach the quality level of either the classic French suspense films (directed by people like Claude Chabrol, Jean-Pierre Melville or Henri-Georges Clouzot), or the best neo noir films (like "Blood Simple" and "Blue Velvet").

Charles Berling	Eva Darian
Andre Dussollier