The "crime scene" in a quick check: A whole life in one second

In their 29th case together, Lannert and Bootz from Stuttgart are dealing with a dead man on the side of the road, the victim of a classic hit-and-run.

The "crime scene" in a quick check: A whole life in one second

In their 29th case together, Lannert and Bootz from Stuttgart are dealing with a dead man on the side of the road, the victim of a classic hit-and-run. "The Murderer in Me" is more of a moral psychogram than a crime thriller, with a perpetrator on the way to the abyss.

What is happening?

Just make a quick call, clarify a few things, one hand on the wheel, the other on the cell phone. Ben Dellien (Nicholas Reinke) is almost home, where his heavily pregnant wife (Christina Hecke) is waiting for him. But the rain is getting heavier, you can hardly see the road. Suddenly there is a crash at the front of the car. Dellien goes into the irons. A wild boar? A deer? What did he hit there? At the sight of his victim, Dellien decides within seconds - drive on or help? A little later, Dellien is at home in bed, at his wife's side.

The next day, the radio news broadcast it: Dellien killed a person. A homeless man nicknamed Foxy. The man lived for a few more hours, then bled to death miserably, according to the examination by forensic pathologist Vogt (Jürgen Hartmann). Lannert (Richy Müller) and Bootz (Felix Klare) are puzzled, and Bootz is also shaken by a professional crisis of meaning. Nothing against what Dellien has in front of his chest: in the struggle for guilt and atonement, between confession and cover-up, the man rides his way deeper and deeper into ruin.

What is it really about?

That split second when everything changes. Being inattentive once - and these are the consequences. "Guilt is filled with fear so infatuated that, hiding itself, it reveals itself," the brash, shrewd Vogt quotes good old Shakespeare as saying. For the fugitive driver Dellien there is no way out of this matter, his nerves are too raw, his attempts to cover up the crime are too helpless. Or will he get away with it in the end?

Zapp-Moment?

none. As high-speed as Dellien is at the beginning of the "crime scene", it may be downright leisurely afterwards, but as a spectator you remain close to the action, and are unbrokenly curious about who is tripping up there, how and why.

Wow-Factor?

It is probably in the eye of the beholder and is more of an au factor than a wow factor. What happens to Dellien offers unpleasant potential for identification, almost painful to watch and consistently accompanied by a gut feeling: something like this could happen to me too. And then ..?

How was it?

7 out of 10 points - Director Niki Stein has already delivered more epoch-making films, but still very solid, downright classic crime fare.