Cannes Review: Elie Wajeman's 'The Anarchists' Starring Tahar Rahim And Adele Exarchopoulos

There is something irresistibly romantic about the concept of the double agent, and it's a narrative that has lent itself to some dramatic cinematic incarnations. It speaks of intrigue, subterfuge, and inner conflict as the pressure of deceiving people who come to trust you tests the strength of your loyalty to bosses and ideologies that begin to seem very far removed. It's a shame, then that the latest entry into this subcategory, Elie Wajeman's "The Anarchists," should be so inert, especially considering the caliber of onscreen talent and the fascinating, relatively little-seen historical period it mines. Detailing a policeman's efforts to infiltrate a radical anarchist group in 1899 Paris, it is a film that could have used some of the passion, conviction, and fire in the belly of its protagonists.

There are different ways to approach the "undercover agent" storyline, and Wajeman, in a decision that is characteristic of his linear approach overall, chooses the...