Re-Creation review: Colm Meaney plays Ian Bailey in an awkward Retelling of the Sophie Toscan du Plantier Murder case

Omniplex Cinemas; Cert 15A

Re-Creation ‘The Trial Of Ian Bailey’ trailer

Chris Wasser

Thu 2 Oct 2025 at 05:30

Directors Jim Sheridan and David Merriman co-pilot this laboured jury-room drama that imagines what might have happened had Ian Bailey stood trial in Ireland for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, the French television producer who was killed near her holiday home in west Cork in December 1996.

The 12 Angry Men comparisons are unavoidable. Sheridan’s film, following on from a documentary series of the same subject, tells of a dozen weary jurors, desperate to reach a unanimous verdict so they can return home.

It is Juror 8 (Vicky Krieps – too good for this sort of thing) who wonders if perhaps Bailey (silently portrayed, in a clunky set-up, by Colm Meaney) is innocent.

The others disagree, for now. The noisiest opposer, Juror 3 (John Connors), makes an aggressive argument for Bailey’s conviction. It falls to a patient foreman (Jim Sheridan, in a poorly-judged acting role) to restore order.

Theatrical and unconventional, Re-Creation talks a big talk, and Sheridan is undeniably committed to the cause.

But it’s a frustrating film, awkward and contrived, with too many voices and too many dramatic embellishments.