The Teckman Mystery

A lighthearted English novelist is asked to write the biography of an aviator by the name of Martin Teckman, who died under mysterious circumstances. In the wake of his passing, the deceased’s ultra refined sister, along with thugs, cops and a few murders intertwine in a strange dance. The Teckman Mystery is a crime thriller unlike any other. First and foremost, it is a visually pleasing film. The protagonist moves through settings filled with furniture, apartment interiors, restaurants and an outlandishly plush airplane cabin. The aesthetic set-up plays on paradox and irony, especially when you consider that the goal is to track down a serial killer… With great wit, filmmaker Wendy Toye constantly undermines and toys with the conventions of the genre featuring strange occurrences:  a stranger shows up to reveal some juicy developments, carrying a bottle of milk (!), a “bouncy” soundtrack accompanies a man’s erratic behavior and the main character leans over a corpse as though he’s dancing (not too surprising, if you consider that Toye was also a choreographer). We thoroughly enjoy this world, which is usually treated with the utmost seriousness yet, when it’s distorted, it entertains and intrigues even more. The protagonist is no exception. The mostly jovial character’s carefree approach works wonders in resolving the story, even when he acts in the detective’s role with a distinctly more focused air. Toye deftly shifts the tone of his narrative, moving from a game of hide-and-seek set against a backdrop of bourgeois landscapes, transitioning to tight camera frames, where silences and moments of heightened vigilance build toward foreboding danger, dread and suspense. A triumph.

Virginie Apiou