A provocative look at madness and society, The Judge and the Assassin is set in late 19th century provincial France, where a climate of social unrest and political repressiveness heighten the tension of a killer on the loose. When a demented and violent ex-sergeant is discharged against his will from an asylum, he begins a rampage of brutal rapes and murders. Philippe Noiret portrays the clever but ruthless judge who masterminds the capture and interrogation of the murderer, while French comic actor Michel Galabru is excellently cast against type as the sly psychopath who is curiously aware of his own illness. In a complex drama, sparked by tour-de-force performances by the confronting parties, Bertrand Tavernier challenges the viewer's reactions, weighing the moral hypocrisy of a self-serving judge against the acts of an insanely murderous victim.