Over the past few years, we’ve seen murder mysteries come in the form of Knives Out, the Murder On The Orient Express remake, and Netflix’s Murder Mystery; dramas and comedies that place the classic form of the genre in vibrant, high production value presentations. But for his directorial debut, Alexis Bruchon dials things back in his film The Woman With Leopard Shoes. Replicating black and white film noir, this French thriller makes the most of its dedication to neo-noirness, limited location storytelling, and engrossing mystery in a surprisingly gripping film watching experience.

In The Woman With Leopard Shoes, a burglar is given a relatively straightforward task: steal a box from a house while no one is home and escape undetected. He find the box, but right as he’s about to leave, house guests show up, trapping him in a room. From here, he begins finding clues and a startling surprise discovery that indicates something much more nefarious is afoot.

This is a film that blends murder mystery with escape room puzzle solving as it juxtaposes its film noir style with its use of modern technology communication. Traditional spunky jazz bookends the black and white presentation to set that roaring 20’s tone for the film while quick cut editing hustles audiences through large swaths of non-verbal segments of the story. The Woman With Leopard Shoes works hard to embody the noir style it strives to reflect, pulling it off for the most part even if the film feels more like an homage to the genre than an original interpretation.

The cunning protagonist and burglar, played by Paul Bruchon, voices absolutely no dialogue over the course of the film. This leaves him to communicate his train of thought primarily through facial expressions as he reads over clues and analyzes the actions and behaviors of the party guests he must hide from. His performance is strong enough to accomplish the objective. The rest of the performances are primarily conveyed through silhouettes, ground-level views of their shoes, and occasional auditory conversations, all offering clues for the burglar to put together.

And that’s what The Woman With Leopard Shoes excels most; building and executing this interactive puzzle game. As the burglar pieces the clues together, the mindful editing and cinematography invites audiences to play along as well. The one location setting for the majority of the movie adds a seemingly claustrophobic pressure to the mix, upping the stakes and drastically increasing the tension each scene generates as more revelations unfurl.

Good mystery films are hard to come by, but The Woman With Leopard Shoes is a valiant effort in fulfilling that gap. It’s not a perfect film, but as a debut feature film for Alexis, it’s a fantastic accomplishment in suspenseful storytelling. In the end, The Woman With Leopard Shoes proves to be a dramatic mystery and a thrilling thriller.

Acting and Casting - 1 | Visual Effects and Editing - 1 | Story and Message - 2 | Entertainment Value - 2 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 2 | Reviewer's Preference - 2 | What does this mean?

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