Bis ans Ende der Nacht
Director: Christoph Hochhäusler
Writer: Florian Plumeyer
Cast: Timocin Ziegler, Thea Ehre, Michael Sideris, Ioana Iacob, Rosa Enskat, Aenne Schwarz
Seen on: 21.12.2024

Content Note: transmisia

Plot:
Robert (Timocin Ziegler) and Leni (Thea Ehre) are pretending to be a couple, even to Leni’s friends. That’s because Leni is a convict turned police informant for an early release, tasked with finding an in into the inner circle of drug dealer Victor (Michael Sideris). And Robert is a police officer and her handler. Not only that, though. He is also her ex-boyfriend, only when they dated, Leni hadn’t transitioned yet and Robert thought she was a man. Reconciling Leni’s past identity, his current attraction to her and his own homosexual identity in the middle of a drug investigation, is throwing Robert for a loop that could jeopardize everything.

Bis ans Ende der Nacht is a (neo) noir crime movie, not exactly my genre. I wanted to watch it anyway because of Ehre’s lauded performance and the trans representation she brings to the film. Well. It’s still not my genre, I’m afraid, and the representation was marred by Robert’s incessant transmisia that was not only grating but made me wonder about too many plot-related things.

Here’s what I liked about Bis ans Ende der Nacht: the reason why Leni is involved in all of this in the first place is that she was trying to finance her transition by selling drugs. It’s a clear acknowledgement of the pressures trans people are under and another strong argument for treating gender affirming care like any other medical issue, that is: making it available through insurance, in the best case without having trans people jump through 5,000 hoops. The ending was pretty nice, too. I also liked Ehre’s performance that brings a sense of realness to Leni in an otherwise rather ludicrous situation that was surprising and appreciated.

Which brings us directly to what I didn’t like about the film: it largely felt ludicrous to me, and more so than any (noir) movie gives us a heightened version of reality. But Robert’s vitriol against Leni was dialed up so much it made me wonder why his boss – who does question this hate – gave him the job in the first place, and not because I have any romantic notions about police inclusivity or competence. It also made the sexual relationship that develops between Leni and Robert (again), and that even gets a sense of romance from the film, more than questionable. It had me cringing in my seat.

In short, over large parts of the film I was both unwilling and unable to suspend my disbelief. And the story wasn’t good enough to draw me in, either. It felt more like a vehicle to explore the relationship between Robert and Leni (including their target becoming basically Robert’s therapist, or at least a yoda-like counsellor), and that relationship was so toxic in my eyes that I just wanted to see Robert dead.

I really would have liked to give the film – probably one of the first German things with a trans woman in a leading role – better notes. But it just didn’t work for me.

Summarizing: maybe if you’re into noirs? Very maybe.