(La mécanique de l'ombre)

The political thriller genre gets a very timely infusion of life with Thomas Kruithof’s debut “Scribe,” a lean, edgy drama about an outwardly bland middle-aged record-keeper hired to transcribe taped conversations that may or may not have been recorded by the French secret service. Set during an election clearly intended to elicit parallels with recent right-wing campaigns from Le Pen to Trump, the film boasts an ace cast and the kind of skillfully crafted script that keeps audiences tensely guessing the outcome until the delicious denouement.