The Lost Son (1999)

	Directed by: Chris Menges	COUNTRY France/United Kingdom GENRE Crime NORWEGIAN TITLE The Lost Son RUNNING TIME 102 minutes
	Produced by: Finola Dwyer
	Written by: Eric Leclere Margaret Leclere Mark Mills

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Lombard	Daniel Auteuil
Nathalie	Marianne Denicourt	½
Deborah	Nastassja Kinski
Emily	Katrin Cartlidge	½
Carlos	Ciarán Hinds	½
Alex Friedman	Bruce Greenwood
Mrs. Spitz	Billie Whitelaw	-
Mr. Spitz	Cyril Sharps	-
Hopper	Jamie Harris	-
Martin	Cal Macaninch	-

Review

Daniel Auteuil plays a tormented private investigator who after taking what seems like a routine missing-person case stumbles upon a child sex ring in the middle of London. This French/British co-production plays and feels like your standard made-for-TV crime drama. Director Chris Menges isn't able to give his movie any distinction or hallmark; perhaps he thought that the controversial subject matter itself would do the trick. And granted, for the first half or so, there is a certain engaging drive to The Lost Son, well helped by Daniel Auteuil's industrious performance. The subplot about Auteuil's relation with high-class call girl Nathalie (Marianne Denicourt) has potential, but everything surrounding the Nastassja Kinski and Ciarán Hinds characters comes off just as stilted as you could expect. And as the movie approaches its conclusion, every piece of the puzzle is awkwardly forced into its "unpredicted" place by a script which is arguably more informed about genre conventions than the world it tries to convey.