Life works differently here, but there’s an underlying sense that the public is turning on the system.Ī thriller is only as good as its lead, and here both plot and character are purposefully revealed. Pre-revolution Cairo is a fascinating beast: police precincts are run as local gangs, complete with racketeering and nepotism, and case outcomes are decided through a (not-so) subtle mix of torture, bribery and political manoeuvring. What makes The Nile Hilton Incident standout is the location. Murder and city corruption – the classic combo that cements every noir, from The Glass Key to series two of True Detective. His only witness is a cleaner Salwa, (Mari Malek, pictured below), who saw construction magnate Hatem Shaqif leave the room, but she’s proving hard to find as she's an undocumented immigrant. Cigarette permanently hanging from his mouth, and loose tie peaking through a leather jacket, he’s the archetypal anti-hero detective. On paper, The Nile Hilton Incident is a classic noir: police commander Noredin Mostafa (Fares Fares, main picture) is placed on the murder of Lalena, a famous singer found with her throat slit in the titular hotel. What The Nile Hilton Incident does incredibly well is create the feeling of being an individual on those streets: placing you in that simmering cauldron, a city on the edge.
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