A French Take on Leopold and Loeb: A Review of FEVER

By Anastasia Byrd in Film February 17, 2017

An adaptation of Leslie Kaplan’s novel of the same name, Fever draws from a well of inspiration… most notably the famed American murderers, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Nathan and Richard kidnapped and murdered 14 year old Bobby Franks on May 21, 1924. The subsequent trial for Bobby Franks murder was deemed the “Trial of the Century” at the time.

This is hardly the first time such subject matter has been explored and reimagined on the big screen (Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1947) comes to mind), but it is perhaps the best exploration of said subject matter put to film. Damien and Pierre are the Leopold and Loeb-esque figures and main characters of Fever who conspire to murder a random woman just to see if they can get away with it.

As a fan of both thrillers and French cinema, I enjoyed every minute of Fever. Martin Loizillon and Pierre Moure give inspired performances as Damien and Pierre in a film that delves deep into the mindsets of its complex characters in ways similar films like Murder by Numbers (2002) could never dream up.

https://youtu.be/ujksrKKUUWo

A truly great 5 star film.

Anastasia Byrd

Scream Queen / Film Geek Extraordinaire

Anastasia Byrd is a freelance writer, podcaster, avid horror fan, and thrash metal enthusiast. Ana also enjoys gaming and making jewelry out of found objects. She lives and works somewhere in Upstate New York.