Saint Omer
Saint Omer
Follows Rama, a novelist who attends the trial of Laurence Coly at the Saint-Omer Criminal Court to use her story to write a modern-day adaptation of the ancient myth of Medea, but things don't go as expected.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 4, 2025
Centered on a trial based on a true life case in which a Senegalese woman killed her own infant daughter, Alice Diop’s Saint Omer mines this extremely unique case for some very harsh truths about motherhood, womanhood, the immigrant experience, …. and so much more. Guslagie Malanda gives an absolutely mesmerizing performance as Laurence Coly, the mother on trial. Her performance is nuanced in such a way that she vividly recounts the killing of her own daughter and yet her testimony, her demeanor, her candor have you on edge of your seat desperate for the possibility that she’s not truly at fault.
Our entry into the story isn’t Coly’s perspective. It is actually Rama (Kayiji Kagame), a writer attending the trial in hopes of writing a book about it. Rama discovers numerous parallels between Coly’s situation and her own life, and by extension the audience does too.
Saint Omer had me completely engrossed. The two lead performances are excellent and Diop’s direction is really powerfully executed. It’s a complex film that may turn off viewers looking for a more straightforward courtroom drama, but I was incredibly moved. The closing statement from Coly’s defense attorney and the acknowledging glance between Coly and Rama made for a very potent finish. Highly recommend.