French polar or police film directed by Erick Zonca, whose The Dream Life of Angels was a success in the late Nineties.
This return after ten years features a top cast but is a somewhat odd affair, at times intriguing and at times completely over-the top. The movie features Francois Visconti, a rather washed-up detective who looks a mess (shaggy beard and dirty long hair)
and is one, drinking copious amounts of whisky even on the job. The part seemed overwritten. Vincent Cassell, who replaced a possibly more plausible Gerard Depardieu at the last moment, invests plenty of energy in the role and has some good scenes but can get a bit much.
He is investigating the disappearance of a teenage boy, mirroring a crisis in his own life with his son well on the way to drug dealing. Something is fishy in the case: the mother, who has her hands full with a Downs Syndrome daughter is not opening up much, the husband is a sailor at sea
and the most help seems to come from a neighbour, a school teacher who knew the boy and whose fascination for the case is beyond the norm. Romain Duris
plays against type here and is also perhaps a bit exaggerated. I preferred the performances of Sandrine Kiberlain as the mother and Elodie Bouchez
as the neighbour’s wife.
So, was it worth watching? Yes, it keeps you guessing
and there are plenty of false leads
but it is no classic. Simply a competently put together French film.
♦♦♦
passionfilm 