The Netflix French thriller La Mante is one of those shows that start very well but have a disappointing story development. La Mante (the mantis, in French) is the serial killer Jeanne Derber (Carole Bouquet), in jail for 25 years for a number of gruesome murders. When it becomes clear that a copycat has been reenacting her famous crimes, La Mante offers to help the police under one condition: she will only speak to Detective Damien Carrot (Jacques Weber). The detective is Derber’s son, information known by almost no one since, in exchange for confessing her murders, she requested that her real name never be disclosed, thus protecting her young son.
La Mante has the potential to be a complex and interesting character. The show, however, chooses to spend too much time focused on her copycat instead of better exploring who that mysterious woman is. In the end, we don’t have a clear picture of her crimes, and the explanation of what makes both La Mante and her copycat such cruel killers sounds like simply bad psychology.
- Lalu Farias
