French writer/director Cédric Kahn follows up serial-killer flick Roberto Succo with this suspenseful thriller, adapted from a Georges Simenon novel.
A middle-aged married couple are driving to the south of France to pick up their children from a holiday camp. Traffic is at a standstill on the motorways and a resentful, drunk Antoine (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) rows with his wife Hélène (Carole Bouquet). She disappears into the night at a rest-stop, while he decides to give a dangerous fugitive (Vincent Deniard) a lift...
The `red lights' of the title are as much metaphorical as literal: the insecure and increasingly inebriated Antoine yearns to "be free" and to "live like a man", not to be patronised by Hélène. But the acting out of his desires comes at a chilling price.
With key events occurring off screen and the elegant visual style conjuring up a hypnotic atmosphere, Kahn delivers an impressive, intelligent and ambiguous work.
