Every family has its secrets. Sometimes these are very small and insignificant, but it can also involve events that have had such an impact that it changed the people involved. It is something which translates well to the big screen and has been used many times. Festen, in which a son accuses his father of terrible things is a good example. It shows the complex relationships within a family and the roles assumed by each family member in it. Boomerang, based on the book by Tatiana de Rosnay, is also about such relationships.
Rey Antoine (Laurent Lafitte) is going through a period in his life which is everything but easy. He is separated from his wife and has a difficult relationship with his children. His work gives him very little satisfaction and he regularly goes to his psychiatrist. He is searching for something he can hold on to and decides he wants to know more about the death of his mother, who was found in the water thirty years ago. Together with his sister Agathe (Mélanie Laurent), he decides to travel to the place where he grew up, to talk to friends and get more information about the events surrounding her death. His search becomes an obsession that is not appreciated by everyone and that puts pressure on family ties.
You’d expect that a mysterious death and undiscovered family secrets are the perfect elements for a fascinating whole that unravels the truth and propels the film but this film lacks that dynamic. It seems to mainly revolve around whether Antoine sees something that is not there and if it’s better for him to go back to his psychiatrist instead of digging further into the past. When slivers of truth emerge (often in a way that feels artificial) it does not have the impact that it could have and that is a pity to see. Laurent Lafitte and Mélanie Laurent are ok in their roles as brother and sister and the film contains the confrontations you’d expect, but still it does not quite convince as a whole.
