It’s a long film which finally -- and rather perfunctorily -- voyages into the murky waters of deep-state conspiracy, and the drama doesn’t really have the rhetorical resources or the performances to make that case plausibly or interestingly.

To the director Fabrice, his co-writer Domenico La Porta, the entire cast and crew, Maldoror is a picture that invokes memories of great filmmakers and their contributions to the genre, whilst staying culturally unique and period perfect.

Du Weiz packs a lot into this 155-minute nail-biter, yet I wish he’d given us a bit more since the film is quite confusing at times, especially in the second half. Bajon keeps us transifxed.

Although this is set in the Nineties, the gritty feel makes it redolent of Seventies-set thrillers, a mood reinforced by the way that du Welz embeds us in Paul’s life from the start.