Le petit lieutenant

This movie starts out looking like a fairly conventional police procedural and ends up something much richer and subtler. It's full of nice little surprises that subvert our expectations of this sort of movie as we've come to know it from the Hollywood model. In fact, it's a wonderful example of how the American model can be molded into something more complicated. One example of that is the relationship between the "little lieutenant" and his attractive, middle-aged alcoholic supervisor. It's largely a filial-maternal relationship, but with subtle erotic undertones that keep us guessing at what might (or might not) develop between the two characters. In fact, little about the plot or the characters turn out the way you expect, and that's a fine thing. The movie also has a script written with exceptional skill and economy. We see only one scene between the lieutenant and his wife, and we hear a few additional comments about his marriage in other scenes, but from these brief bits we get a picture of a complex and problematic relationship that tells us as much as we need to know about the couple. While nothing about this movie is flashy, I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since I saw it earlier this week. It's thought provoking and I recommend it highly.

As in previous Beauvois' movies, this film is about loss. The loss is everywhere in the movie : the loss of the dead child of the main female character, the loss of a normal couple life for the "petit lieutenant" and, finally, his loss. What makes the movie so interesting is the way in which it uses the form of the cope movie (film noir) as a way to reflect the hardships of living with the memory of the dead, to go on while things are forever changed by their disappearance. At the same time, the form of the cope movie is more than a mere pretext: the director is very much at ease with the conventions of the genre and is very skillful at going beyond by adding stunning realistic elements. There is no heroism there, only gloom and despair. No big man hunt, but a very trivial one. A very good movie. A must see for lovers of french film noir.

I saw the movie being a French police officer.

Usually I don't like movies about French police for they are mostly very unrealistic.

There however we have a story about what could be a regular case in one of the most important Crime Units in the city of Paris. With regular police work done by regular police detectives.

The actors are playing in a such realistic manner that they just could be real cops caught in their everyday work.

The movie is sad, very sad and hard. I don't think you would apply to become a police officer after seeing it ...

This is less about the crime, then the day to day minutiae of police work, in particular the growing relationship between an eager young lieutenant, and his tough, ex-alcoholic boss – Nathalie Baye, in an excellent, uncharacteristically dark performance. There's no romance between the two, just an evolving connection.

In the meantime, the lieutenant's home life is a mess – his wife is understandably angry because he requested his Paris posting, far from their home and her work, without asking her.

This sad, low key, almost documentary like film, without music or fancy shots, is an insightful look into the people who face crime every day. Dense enough that I'd gladly re-see it.

A young lieutenant, fresh from school, starts in Paris in a homicide squad. He grew up in Le Havre, where his wife still teaches at school. He misses her and tries to get her to move to Paris too. His boss is a very good police inspector, who just returns to the police after having dropped for personal reasons. She had lost her only son and became an alcoholic. Now she is clean and takes over a new group. Soon they have to investigate the murder of a homeless person. The search for the killer brings big dangers for most of the group, but specially for the lieutenant and his boss.

The film shows some everyday routine of police work and how the officers enjoy themselves after their day is done. There are no big things going on, even the murder case is not very special. It is the personal situation of the two main characters that involves the interest of the audience. Well done, though not really great. 7 out of 10.