'The Cradle Will Fall' is actually known by three titles. On British TV the original title 'La Clinique du docteur H' is contracted to 'Le docteur H', making this movie hard to locate on IMDb.
A strong cast and superb direction gives this implausible story credence. Numerous strands develop throughout adding depth and twists, which intertwine neatly as the plot thickens. Nicolas Marie (well known as the principle character, President of France Alain Marjorie in the thriller 'Spin') plays Detective Serge, chief of the police department. Serge has a much younger wife. He suspects her of infidelity, but rather than risk direct confrontation and losing her, he sets out to dispose of her lover in a convenient but convoluted manner, by seizing the opportunity to pin the murder of a young woman on him. In his predicament, the truth to Serge is irrelevant.
Meanwhile, a young reporter, who wonders why the death happened, sets out to investigate and discovers that the victim was receiving fertility treatment. She tracks down other women also receiving fertility treatment at the same clinic. One of whom is Serge's wife. The reporter requests an interview with the clinic's director, gynaecologist Docteur H. All seems perfectly in order. The medical doctor answers her questions with aplomb, such things happen, the victim was a normal young woman who wanted to conceive, c'est la vie. It soon becomes apparent that hyper-intelligent Docteur H (Aurelien Rocoing) is not only hiding a great many secrets, but he is as mad as a hatter. Rocoing hams up his character to great effect. The archetypal mad movie scientist whose chief mission in life is to further his medical research at any cost, completely disregarding his Hippocratic oath 'to do no harm'. Docteur H kills his patients incompassionately. This element of the story bears an uncanny similarity to the real life British mass murderer Dr.Harold Shipman, who took the lives of at least 200 victims before being caught.
So, the police should catch wicked Docteur H right? That's how movies go? Wrong! Not in this movie. Beset by insane jealousy and anxieties, Serge cunningly pins the murder on his wife's lover! Fortunately, another cop Cathy (played by the beautiful Elodie Franck) realises events are not as they appear. While deeply confused by her boss's certainty as to whom the murderer is - she suspects that Docteur H is implicated. But how? Excellent detective work leads her to the discovery Docteur H has a criminal record in Canada, has been skipping prosecution, taking on false identities and working in country after country - implanting foetuses into infertile women. I did allude to this tale as implausible. Rejection alone would render this improbable, but, of course, this is a movie. The suspension of one's disbelief is quickly glossed over, the key art of movie-making.
More deaths happen. In haste Docteur H takes events, extreme events, into his own hands, making serious mistakes that spiral out of control. Cathy, is the one character who unravels the truth, yet Serge steadfastly stands in her way. Serge has much to lose if she exposes the unlikable doctor, and is not above planting evidence. And so it continues!
If you followed the machinations thus far the film is for you. Olivier Barma's direction is tight, producing a gripping story that easily holds the attention. While the score is unobtrusive, the direction and script give the main characters plenty of material to bite on. The only downside, Rocoing is seemingly an impossible figure in real life, but wait, the equally insane Harold Shipman was too. Final verdict? Worth watching!
