Les pistolets en plastique

It is the pathologists from the opening scene that introduce us to Zavatta (Anthony Paliotti), in admiring whispers. According to them, he is supposedly the best profiler who could outsmart even the most elusive of serial killers, but when the scene cuts to show us the man himself, his slow-motion stroll through an airport lounge (toothpick in his mouth) is simply laughable. In the bathroom, he spots a man whose passport says Michel Uzès ​​(Gaëtan Peau), but according to Zavatta, he is a serial killer on the run – Paul Bernardin, the murderer of his own wife and three children – and the police have to be alerted. In the meantime, somewhere else in France, Léa (Delphine Baril) and Christine (Charlotte Laemmel) are being awarded Facebook Investigation Diplomas for their expert work on the Bernardin case, from the comfort of their homes. In Buenos Aires, a man (Laurent Stocker) who may be the real Bernardin is about to get married to an unsuspecting young woman. Plastic Guns jumps between Denmark, France and Argentina – between police stations, airports, holiday destinations and country houses – following all of these characters as their agendas converge in said murder case. Léa and Christine are perhaps the most intriguing figures in the film, as they represent both the Reddit/4chan investigative communities and women’s pronounced interest in true crime, so it’s only natural that the script by Meurisse and Amélie Philippe lets them go the furthest. The men, Zavatta, Bernardin and Uzès, all make fools of themselves, thus taking the film’s edge off, while still retaining a bit of frightfulness.