This latest French offering from Walter and Co, ‘Spiral of Lies’, features Camille Lou in the lead role as Audrey, a lawyer who recognises something in the murder of a young girl in Biarritz that takes her back sixteen years to an incident in her youth – an incident which when she reported it at the time, she was rather economical with the truth.
If you want to avoid all spoilers, stop reading this article now.
When she was 19, Audrey went to a party with her boyfriend and some other friends. She left the party with her boyfriend, who has the keys to a swanky house – knowing the occupants were away. They enter the building, drink the owners Champagne, sleep in their bed and generally makes the place their own. But when the boyfriend suggests stealing expensive jewellery and watches, Audrey draws the line, and they argue.
What they don’t know is that they are being watched, and as they’re enjoying themselves, someone sets fire to the property. In an act of selfishness and self-preservation, the boyfriend gets in his car and drives away – leaving poor Audrey in a burning building, with a priceless necklace around her neck that the boyfriend put on her.
Audrey escapes, but as she’s struggling home through the night – evading the incoming fire brigade by hiding in the woods – she realises she’s not alone. She is attacked by a hooded figure, during the struggle, the necklace and her shoes fall off. She manages to evade her attacker and hide until morning, despite a scalpel wound to her neck.
The following day when she gets home, her boyfriend pleads with her to not mention that they’d been to the house – but instead to simply say that she was attacked after leaving the party. He doesn’t want their names linked with the swanky property that’s now a smouldering wreck. Audrey foolishly agrees – hence the spiral of lies.
Cut to 16 years later and Audrey is now a lawyer. When reports of the murder of a young girl in the same area circulate, she uses her husband’s connections to acquire murder scene photographs – which is when she notices the same necklace that she lost 16 years ago around this young girl’s neck.
She manages to get to the family of the girl and offers to represent their interests, whilst clearly pursuing her own agenda in trying to find the person who attacked her all those years ago.
Camille Lou deserves a huge amount of credit for managing to be an entirely convincing 19-year-old, and an entirely convincing 35-year-old at the same time. Lou is well known in France as an actor and singer, performing her musician career under the name Jimmie.
There are plenty of holes in the plot, it must be said. And quite a few extraordinary leaps of faith that make you go – “really?!!”, which discredit the storyline to some extent. But the Basque coast looks lovely on screen, and Lou is very watchable and engaging.
The finest ever French thriller series was called ‘Spiral’ (known as ‘Engranages’ in France, starring Caroline Proust and the wonderful Audrey Fleurot). ‘Spiral Of Lies’ is no ‘Spiral’ – but it’s entertaining and worth checking out.
Walter Presents: ‘Spiral of Lies’ launches on Channel 4 at midnight on 25th June 2023. The full boxset is available on Walter Presents via C4 Streaming now.
