After Le Secret d'Élise and Une Chance de Trop, TF1 again succeeded in creating an event with the broadcast of the mini-series La Main du Mal, in two episodes of 90 minutes. A brilliant plot full of twists and turns…
Thomas Schaffner (Grégory Fitoussi – Gears) is a brilliant lawyer who believes that everyone has the right to be defended, even the worst of scoundrels. Applying this principle, he pleads the cause of Luc Follet (Joey Starr – Dix pour Cent), a murderer who brutally killed a young woman. He wins his case, Follet is released but Thomas refuses to shake his hand, too disgusted by the sadism of his client… Annoyed, the latter decides to attack Thomas' wife. The beginning of a terrible spiral and a descent into hell…
It must be recognized, TF1 knows how to offer quality mini-series for a few years. Like Elise's Secret (2016), Une chance de trop (with Alexandra Lamy in 2016 too), and La Vengeance aux Yeux Clairs (whose broadcast ended last September), La Main du Mal also falls into this category.
Adapted from a British mini-series (The Espace Artist , starring David Tennant , hero of Doctor Who and Broadchurch), The Hand of Evil succeeds hands down the bet of the French adaptation, and plunges us into the heart of a real descent into hell lived by the hero. A gear launched after the refusal to shake hands with his client.
The first episode sets the scene and the characters, and already the character played by Joey Starr, Luc Follet, freezes our blood. Alleged perpetrator of the murder of a young woman, he gives us a cold and fair performance, often in restraint, sometimes in the explosion. The presentation of the character reveals unexpected facets in the actor. Next to him, we find the actor Grégory Fitoussi surrounded by his wife Anna (Elodie Frégé). The role of lawyer who has succeeded in everything in his professional life and who is happy in the household with his wife and son is perfectly suited to the actor who interprets it with just the right amount of coldness and emphasis.
The rest of the cast is composed of François Berléand in the role of Thomas Schaffner's boss, Mélanie Doutey in that of the lawyer in perpetual competition, Pierre Rochefort in that of the faithful friend, André Marcon in the role of a prestigious lawyer at the head of a large law firm and finally Florence Loiret-Caille, presented at the beginning as a neighbor of Luc Follet.
The series follows with ease, between the preparation of Follet's first trial and the family life of Thomas Schaffner. Where everything changes is at the moment of the verdict. While Follet is released, his lawyer refuses to shake his hand. At that moment, we know that the series will take another turn. The first episode ends as it began: the situation, even if it has changed, has returned to its initial starting point.
Where the series surprises us is during its second part, where despite the evidence, Follet is once again released. For Thomas Schaffner, Thomas Schaffner begins a real descent into hell. The scenario is a bit stretched in length but we must stay until the end, when the character of Dolores (played by Mélanie Doutey) really understands the end of the story, at the same time as us, viewers.
We could blame the writers for not having played on the feeling of doubt regarding the character of Luc Follet but it is to better embark us in a completely different story that we do not see coming at all. The feeling of surprise is not there but elsewhere. The stakes of the series are clearly known only in the second part, the rest resting on brilliant face-to-face between the characters.
Special mention to the scene where Joey Starr wants to see his lawyers in the second episode, a scene where the actor lets all his talent burst!
In conclusion, a beautiful criticism of the judicial system, where we realize that the evidence can still be counteracted by the diversion of the situation. The series is carried by a quality cast, a psychological side that we are not used to seeing in a French series and that is close to what the English can do. Failing to revolutionize the genre, we spend a good time in front of The Hand of Evil, and we question whether or not to shake hands with someone…
