Although the story shows some thriller features, ‘La place d’une autre’ remains remarkably flat ★★☆☆☆

Suddenly, Nélie (Lyna Khoudri) sees another life before her. As a nurse behind French lines in World War I, she survived a mortar attack that killed a wealthy young woman. Having nothing or no one, Nélie assumes her identity and travels to Nancy, where she becomes a companion to the wealthy Madame de Lengwil (Sabine Azéma). For the first time she enjoys prestige and knows safety.

The French Costume Drama La place d’une autre is loosely based on The New Magdalen, a Wilkie Collins novel set in Victorian England. The French class society around 1914 is organized differently, but the basis remains the same: whoever dangles at the bottom is stuck there. You don’t need it from the rich. “They just send you away, no matter how friendly they seem.”

Although the story shows thriller features, La place d’une autre remarkably flat. Despite the beautiful acting of the protagonists, director Aurélia Georges turns it into a stately drama, in which Nélie’s struggle seems more like a strategic game than a bitter necessity.