A lawyer wins a million-dollar lawsuit for a widow, and shortly afterwards he lies dead in her house. The “crime scene” investigators Thiel and Boerne do not believe that the woman acted in self-defense.
A court ruling makes Doreen Prätorius (Cordeliawege) a rich woman. After the death of her husband Jonas (Christian Erdmann), she receives four million euros from his life insurance. She managed this with the help of the lawyer Oskar Weintraub (Nils Brunkhorst). She wants to use the money to finance a break “very, very far away,” says Prätorius, while Weintraub drives her home. When she forgets important documents in his car, he runs after her and suddenly finds himself in his client’s living room. What he sees there shocks him: Doreen Prätorius’ husband is not dead, but has been hiding in the basement for years. The couple defrauded the insurance company. The realization is Weintraub’s death sentence: Jonas Praetorius pushes him off a gallery in an argument. The lawyer lands backwards on an exotic warrior sculpture and is literally pierced by its spear. Inspector Frank Thiel (Axel Prahl) and forensic doctor Karl-Friedrich Boerne (Jan Josef Liefers) tell Doreen Prätorius that she acted in self-defense. It is only over time that the investigators find out that her husband is actually still alive and that he is the murderer. Likewise the background to the insurance fraud.
Crime and slapstick, that has been the recipe for success of the “Tatort” from Münster since 2002. In this episode, however, the humor takes a back seat and a more serious tone is adopted because it deals with an important topic: physical and psychological violence against women. The film vividly shows how Jonas Prätorius degrades, humiliates, manipulates his wife and thus completely destroys her self-esteem. It is said in one scene that her husband made her look like a vampire. Inspector Thiel states that there is nothing personal belonging to Doreen Prätorius in the couple’s house. And she herself formulates her situation like this: “I have no friends anymore. I’ve spoiled my life with everyone. Our marriage has overshadowed everything.” Cordelia Wegen embodies Doreen Prätorius and her personal development very convincingly. Seeing how this broken woman emancipates herself and manages to free herself from her husband’s power is the true strength of the crime novel.
Perpetrator, crime scene, victim: all of this is clear within the first ten minutes. Screenwriter Sascha Arango opted for an open narrative style. “This gives much more space to illuminate the psychology of the perpetrator as the noose of the investigation continues to tighten around his neck,” he says. At the same time, the audience also has a constant knowledge advantage over the investigators, which takes some of the tension out of the case. The film is not as fast-paced as the allusion to the James Bond film “You Only Live Twice” suggests. The focus is primarily on the relationship between the Prätorius couple.
Is Doreen Prätorius a defenseless victim or a clever insurance fraudster? Thiel and Boerne’s opinions differ on this question. While the inspector believes in the woman’s innocence and is secretly a little in love with her, the forensic doctor sees the matter more soberly. He doubts the version that Praetorius gives to the investigators.
Chopped off fingers, impaled corpses and violence in marriage: the film doesn’t exactly create a contemplative mood on the third Advent. If that puts you off: The contrasting program with “Rosamunde Pilcher” is on ZDF.
Thiel and Boerne also investigated these cases:
