El interrogatorio: bajo custodia

Nothing revolutionary here; just impeccably elegant, restrained cinema.

GARDE A VUE is confined almost exclusively to a drab police station, and mostly to one interrogation room, but director Claude Miller (who made the wonderful film THIS SWEET SICKNESS, among others) intercalates spare glimpses of exterior tableaux as minimalist locale scenography. Miller's restraint, especially early on, is breathtaking, and his exquisite handling of the consequently-pivotal interior mise-en-scene makes for captivating viewing.

Lino Ventura is superb as usual, succeeding to legitimize a character that, on paper, is cliche: the laconic, hard-nosed, world-weary homicide detective. Ventura lives the role, making it completely believable, even though the script allows us little access to his inner workings; the film ends at the very moment it appears he will be forced to confront his failure for the first time.

Michel Serrault is equal to the task as the suspected child-killer who shrewdly spars with the single-minded flic. The exchanges between the two are more-often-than-not pregnant with tension and the aura of a constantly metamorphosing playing field for a battle of wits. Serrault's character is by turns deplorably haughty and cunning, and pitiable; then later....

The "message" of GARDE A VUE, if one were to search for one, is a condemnation of police methodology and the kind of pressures that make a cop over-zealous to, if necessary, close cases at the expense of justice. For most of its length though the film shines as nothing more than an exemplar of how to turn a potentially soporific set-bound scenario into a suspenseful drama of the utmost cinematic economy.

Miller is not well known in North America. He made a superb first feature called La meilleure facon de marcher, about two young instructors at a summer camp. One terrorizes the other with insults and physical abuse designed to provoke a homosexual response. The typical Miller film has a central figure under a lot of pressure, either self-imposed or coming from others. Here we have a rich lawyer (Serrault, so wonderful in La cage aux folles) accused of raping and killing two young girls. He is being interrogated on New Year's eve in a sterile office by two detectives who would rather be out celebrating.

As the night wears on, Serrault becomes more and more frustrated and anguished since the questioning turns as much on his married life as on his alibis for the two girls. His marriage is a sham; his wife married him for his money and they haven't made love in ten years. Romy Schneider made a great cameo as the wife resigned to her wretched, loveless but upwardly-mobile arrangement. She died soon after the film was released.

The main characters are all superbly played. Guy Marchand is the dumber of the two cops; he's sweating under the lights and hates the accused man even more for his veiled insults. Lino Ventura plays Gallien with a fine combination of tact and anger. He can't forget the photos of the victims.

I'll just mention Bruno Nuytten's fine camera work; the night scenes in a steady rain are well done. This is one of the finest crime films from France and should be widely seen.

At the beginning of this movie, while credit titles are still running, you are immersed in an atmosphere that mix your feelings, with dark winter night, clapping rain on windows and a marvelous music (composed by Georges Delerue) which evoke merry-go-round, barrel organ and festive childhood.

And then the music stops and you enter in an austere police office for a questioning on the murder of two children.

No show off. No special effects. Dialogue.

And you discover how sad and lonesome adults can be sometimes in their games or duties.

Excellent movie.

A masterpiece. Every line and every scene. The opposite of Hollywood, a lifelike movie. Simple, complex and authentic. All actors are legends of cinema. Well, those movies are things of the past. A true gem that most will not understand anymore.

Lino Ventura, M. Serrault and Romy Schneider. What else can you say? And Guy Marchand (from the seedy detective series "Nestor Burma"). The script flows like a clockwork orange, of course aided by Serrault, who could make rocks weep, laugh and commit suicide. Lino Ventura is believable, almost likable, as a tough cop who "doesn't really care who gets nailed" but can't forget the young victims, and won't be distracted from a suspect even if he's got style and wit.

Why does the ending disappoint? Probably a tad melodramatic and manipulative, it doesn't harm an already superb film. It only makes it far from perfect. I agree with IMDb's reviewer "Taylor, from Ottawa" that "night scenes in a steady rain" by Bruno Nuytten create the perfect oppressive if somewhat awkward climate, necessary for this theatrical plot to unfold. Enjoy, if possible on a damp night :)!

PS: The remake "Under suspicion"... Hackman is fine, but can't reach Michel's subtlety and yet how disagreeable he can be; he seems born for this "gifted neurotics" roles. Monica Bellucci is nice, but cannot carry the nostalgia Schneider exudes. W. Chisholm's review on Amazon is right she shows Visconti's training. Adaptations should only be made when improving on the original, don't you think :)?