André Téchiné's SCENE OF THE CRIME is a complex melodrama that follows troublemaking Thomas and his disturbed mother, Lily (Catherine Deneuve), as their small-town lives are changed by the arrival of an escaped criminal. On the weekend of his first communion, 13-year-old Thomas encounters Martin--who has just escaped from jail--and his accomplice, Luc, who tries to kill Thomas. The shock of this dreamlike experience distances him from his mother and from life in general as he withdraws into the tumult of adolescence. Lily, rebuilding her life after separating from her husband, also has a chance encounter with Martin, who attempts to seduce her. As this elegantly filmed drama reaches its climax, all three characters' conflicting impulses for love and freedom clash, and the outcome is tragic and arresting.