The French thriller 'The Night Thief' is now available online, in which a locksmith in his work overalls tries to survive the worst night of his life.

A young student named Madi (Jonathan Feltre) works as a locksmith at night, breaking into the locks of absent-minded Brussels residents who have lost their keys. In between jobs, he studies political science, listens to touching songs on a worn-out CD inherited from his mother, and wearily watches another BLM protest through the windshield of his car.

One such night, he gets a call from a girl named Claire (Natasha Krief). She says she forgot her keys in her apartment and hires Madi to get inside. The student diligently, though suspecting something fishy, does his job, and the girl, as soon as she's inside, exits through another entrance with a million euros in her hands.

A few moments later, it turns out the money belonged to a local gangster named Yannick (Romain Duris), and before ending up as his 'guest,' Madi manages a brief scuffle with one of the thugs, barely emerging victorious. Yannick doubts Madi's story but gives him a chance, sending him onto the streets of Brussels with one task: find the mysterious girl and return the money by morning.

In recent years, cinema has seen a trend of shifting focus, where news agendas become central to the plot of a film that is typically considered niche and assigned the infamous 'B' category. The changes in the air, brought to the screen, give it a different meaning and nuance, while coexisting perfectly with the basic laws of the genre. That's roughly what happened with the debut feature film by Belgian director Mikhail Blanchard. 'Roughly' because 'The Night Thief' somewhat belatedly tried to cross a tense neo-noir with mass BLM protests.

It didn't turn out very smoothly, because while masterfully handling the thriller genre and skillfully weaving intrigue (yes, it's there too), Mikhail Blanchard also easily gets lost in a selection of current news feeds, most of which have already lost their hot phase of relevance. The film features scenes of strikes and protests against police brutality, but they remain merely a picturesque backdrop to the central events. These processes never intersect with the hero, except for one instance when the crowd helps Madi escape his pursuers. But whose side the director is on becomes clear from the very first frames. Blanchard made his position clear.

But when it comes to the craft itself, Blanchard is much more confident. 'The Night Thief,' despite its minimalist locations lit mostly by artificial streetlight, maintains a brisk pace throughout Madi's dangerous journey through Brussels' seedy spots. The few, short but virtuosic fight scenes recall the dry, brutal direction of films like 'Brawl in Cell Block 99' or 'Dragged Across Concrete.' This is especially highlighted in the fight scene in a brothel, where a completely naked man fights off thugs while Madi hides in one of the rooms. Blanchard shoots all this with wide-angle lenses and takes his time, savoring every frame.

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Thanks to all the above, 'The Night Thief' is quite thrilling, and it's actually hard to notice any script flaws due to the feverish pace. Ultimately, the film fulfills its entertainment function well and by the end almost abandons any deeper insight: the noble locksmith in his work overalls remains a locksmith in his work overalls. But in the end, another immutable truth persistently emerges: working night shifts is not only harmful but can also be extremely dangerous to life.