Roubaix, une lumière

... is superb as the not-very-bright partner of Lea Seydoux in this latest Desplechin opus. The story has holes in it, but the performances of the three leads do not. I've been an admirer of Roschdy Zem for about 20 years and would watch him in anything. His part is the immigrant who made good in the decaying Northern industrial town, and he settles into it well. Lea Seydoux is sort of the iconic actress in France now, and her movies are high quality, even if they don't move me much. It's Sara Forestier who really impressed me; I've seen a few of her pictures, L'amour est un crime parfait and Gainsbourg (vie heroique) in which she had small parts, but now I'll be looking out for her.

Dr Coulardeau's review is an interesting read--he is certainly angry about the superficial way the city of Roubaix is treated--but I'm not interested in the sociology of film, only in the characters.

It may be the most exciting uninteresting film I've ever seen. The use of music and diptych dancing in blue and orange colors seem to be the main character. Something about Zem's relentless persistence also fascinates without anyone understanding why. I'm not a fan of Desplechin, but this film gives us mysteries without ever really unpacking them, with a confidence in the viewer that is becoming rare.

I was deeply bored by this however interesting film, a social drama, not a real pure crime flick although; a kind of Ed Mc Bain's novels atmosphere, the police procedural around a murder case, where Roschdy Zem could be a kind of Lieutnant Carella. I was bored because that's not my cup of tea. But that's ony a matter a taste. I prefered GARDE A VUE though. And POLISSE. There is here a tribute to LE CERCLE ROUGE with the lonely cop chaaracter living with a cat pet; remember Bourvil, in Jean Pierre Melville's masterpiece. And Lea Seydoux gives here another astotishing performance as a young lesbian, a kind of tribute of <hat she did in LA VIE D'ADELE, back in 2013. Good acting and directing, but not my kind of films.

Roubaix is a real place, but after seeing this movie, you're not going to be packing your bits and moving there. It was once a thriving market town, then a nineteenth century industrial center (near Lille), and now it's a dumping ground for people who are not making it big in the exciting new Lille "Eurometropolis" (with its "Eurolille" business district), which also incorporates urban concentrations in Belgium. If this sounds like a socioeconomic lecture, that's because this movie "Oh Mercy!" looks like fieldwork, someone's research on urban decay. Heavy going? - I think you'll find that it is fairly heavy.

I persevered. Gradually the film developed focus on a particular crime: a murder. This is after we've watched overworked cops checking out a burned-out car, some domestic violence, a robbery, arson, and a serial rapist.

Roschdy Zem is a powerful presence as Commissaire Daoud, a rank about equivalent to detective-inspector (UK) or lieutenant of detectives (US). Lea Seydoux creates Claude, the dominant partner in a relationship. There's some classic "prisoner's dilemma" interplay. Sara Forestier does good work portraying Marie, seen by the detectives as the weak link - she has to try to withstand an unedifying interrogatory pressure. If you got through the first half of this film, you'll probably hang in there to find out how it ends.

These days Hollywood clings to comic book superheroes, video games material, corsetry costuming, and reworking formulas that succeeded last time. They don't make movies like "Oh Mercy!" But the film-financing structures of the EU allow space for a certain amount of "grim seriousness." If you're not sure that grim seriousness is your thing, then it probably isn't.

Good, pretty fairly rhythmic start, almost too much, but the film runs out of steam in an interminable ending which doesn't really serve the dramatic plot. Beautiful writing of the main character of the commissioner, intelligently played by Roschdy Zem. Good performances from actresses Léa Seydoux and Sara Forestier. The writing of the secondary characters and the direction of the actors concerning them are weaker and clash with the main characters. Honorable mention for the soundtrack. Very nice camera work. A well-made film on a technical level, but which lacks soul, depth and writing finish.