In his first English-language film French actor Daniel Auteil plays Xavier Lombard, a world-weary private detective who`s hired by a former colleague Carlos (Ciaron Hinds) to help investigate the disappearance of his brother-in-law Leon. Carlos had married Deborah (Nastassia Kinski), daughter of the rich and powerful Spitz family. Lombard`s investigations take him to Felixstowe to Leon`s girlfriend played by Katrin Cartlidge, who`s hiding out with a young boy whom, she tells Lombard was saved by Leon from a paedophile ring... Lombard finds himself delving deeper into the murky world of child sexual exploitation...While having a superficially self-conscious demeanour of social relevance.
The Lost Son is basically just a private-eye flick with not too many surprises and some rather obvious cliches. It sits rather uncomfortably within its background material which is rather nasty. Some may think the film brave for not backing off from the nastiness but I think you have to do something more with the topic of child sexual abuse than just use it for thriller titillation. Menges as always has a really good eye - the London setting is grittily realistic and the Felixstowe scenes are visually spectacular. Daniel Auteil`s English is occasionally impenetrable but no-one`s character is developed enough to really make what they say terribly important.
