Frederick Seibold (Helgi Schmid) is kidnapped from the golf course in broad daylight. Four perpetrators masked with animal masks drag him into a van and take him to a dark basement. A little later blackmail letters appear from his ex-girlfriend and his father, a renowned business lawyer. Also in the envelope is a severed finger. When it turns out that the limbs did not come from the abductee, Frankfurt chief inspectors Anna Janneke (Margarita Broich) and Paul Brix (Wolfram Koch) face a double challenge: They not only have to find a fingerless corpse, but also find Frederick’s hiding place seibold
The title sounds promising and the thriller actually picks up speed at the beginning. In addition, socially relevant topics are touched upon, such as the housing shortage in large cities, here using the example of Frankfurt. Or the fate of many women, especially single mothers, who live “below the subsistence level” even though they toil all day, as Inspector Janneke put it in one scene. The women in the film are portrayed as strong and loyal, while the majority of the men are self-absorbed whiners. In general, it should be emphasized that many women were involved in HR production – in front of and behind the camera.
The film can’t quite decide what it wants to be: slapstick comedy or serious crime thriller. Petra Lüschow, who is responsible for the screenplay and direction, puts it this way: “My stories focus on ambivalent, vulnerable characters who fight bravely but don’t always win. I’m interested in why we stay trapped and what keeps us trapped, but the tragic, what is at the basis of this can often be specified better in comedy. Comedy is changed pain.” Unfortunately, the lack of concentration on one genre makes it increasingly difficult for the viewer to stay with the bar. In addition, it is clear from the 30th minute who is behind the kidnapping of Frederick Seibold.
Chief inspector Brix is doubly busy: he has to solve the case with his colleague Janneke and he is looking for a new apartment for himself and his roommate Fanny (Zazie de Paris). She is traumatized after an attack and no longer dares to go outside. In the end, it is Fanny’s fear that leads to the decisive turning point.
If you don’t know the case yet, you should give it a chance.
The “Tatort” episode “Who hesitates is dead” was first broadcast on August 29, 2021. ARD will repeat the film on Friday, March 17 at 10:50 p.m.
