The Collini Case review – Nazi courtroom drama tackles postwar guilt and racism

This adaptation of Ferdinand von Schirach's thriller about a grandfather with a murky past is let down by conventional storytelling and clunky acting

We need to know about the evil," said the German lawyer-turned-bestselling-novelist Ferdinand von Schirach. That's the only way we can live with it." His grandfather was head of the Hitler Youth and his grandmother served as Hitler's secretary. Now, Von Schirach's thriller about the legacy of Nazism featuring a grandfather with a murky past has been adapted into a watchable if sluggish and dated courtroom drama - let down by cliched storytelling and clunky acting that drains the movie of tension.

Elyas M'Barek plays newly qualified public defender Caspar Leinen, who is constantly being reminded that his Turkish heritage puts him on the outside of the establishment. Three months into the new job, he lands the case of his career, representing an Italian man accused of murdering a well-known business tycoon. The evidence leaves no doubt as to what happened: Fabrizio Collini (Franco Nero) shot Hans Meyer (Manfred Zapatka) in the head three times and stamped on his face with such force that brain matter was found on his shoe. But Collini isn't talking and the central mystery of the movie is his motive, which has it roots in wartime events revealed in sepia flashback so conventional they sometimes feel close to parody.