Inspecteur Lavardin

This is actually rather a good, but not particularly noteworthy, detective movie. Chabrol re-uses a character of an earlier film, Inspecteur Lavardin from Poulet au Vinaigre, which was probably the most successful ingredient of that film. This later film is more entertaining and accessible than Poulet, primarily because it benefits from having a much better script, with more than a smattering of humour. In addition, the main characters are better drawn and acted than in Poulet. Of particular note are Jean-Claude Brialy playing Lavardin's outrageously camp and eccentric host, and Jean Poiret, now comfortably installed in the role of the unconventional, if not to say dangerous, detective Lavardin.

The plot is quite sophisticated, with some clever twists and turns. The unmasking of the murderer and the transfer of guilt are quite cleverly engineered, although the conclusion does raise some questions about Lavardin's (and Chabrol's?) own personal morality. That, coupled with Lavardin's somewhat brutal technique from extracting truth from the witnesses and suspects, can only serve to undermine his position as the good guy in any subsequent film.

This sequel to COP AU VIN (1985), in which Jean Poiret's eccentric title character is given more screen-time, proves to be almost as good; if anything, he is less detached towards his current case – since the victim's wife (Bernadette Lafont) is an old flame of the Inspector's! Besides, the sleazy vicissitudes of the murder mystery here are somewhat more compelling than in the first film – involving as it does bigamy, drug-trafficking, incest, infidelity, patricide, paedophilia, prostitution, etc.!

Once again, Lavardin locks horns with one of the suspects in particular, a discotheque-owner who unwisely flaunts his political connections at him. As I said, the protagonist is allowed plenty of opportunity to display his idiosyncrasies – such as when he willfully destroys the fragile collection of ornamental eyes owned by Jean-Claude Brialy (playing Lafont's spirited live-in gay brother), or when, at the disco, he first appropriates for himself a drink being poured to a paying customer and, then, interrupts the activities to request identification papers from suspicious-looking patrons!

However, the women are not only scarcer than they were the first time around but also less interesting: Lafont herself is oddly given little of substance to do, while the actress appearing as her daughter (who has more to do with her stepfather's death than her mother could ever imagine) is simply too nondescript for such a pivotal role! Otherwise, the film offers much the same level of entertainment and maintains a more or less comparable standard of quality as the original.

In Dinan, in the countryside of France, the Catholic writer Raoul Mons (Jacques Dacqmine) is having lunch with his wife Hélène Mons (Bernadette Lafont), his stepdaughter Véronique Manguin (Hermine Clair) and his brother-in-law Claude Alvarez (Jean-Claude Brialy), when residents of the nearby coastal town knock at his door to tell that a theater troupe will present a profane play. Raoul, who is a leader in the community, promises to take care of the case. On the next morning, Raoul is found murdered on the beach with the word "pig" written on his back. Inspector Jean Lavardin (Jean Poiret) arrives in town to help the investigation. When he arrives at Raoul's house, he sees Hélène, who was his passion twenty-years ago, and learns that her previous husband had also been murdered. He interviews the family and Hélène lodges him at home. He also interviews the cast of the play and discovers family secrets, including that Raoul and Hélène were estranged and did not have sex. He also discovers that Raoul was an habitué of the night-club owned by Max Charnet (Jean-Luc Bideau), who uses his political influence to sell drugs and allow minors in his club. Soon Inspector Lavardin learns dirty secrets and who killed Raoul Mons.

"Inspecteur Lavardin", a.k.a. "Inspector Lavardin" (1986), is a witty crime film by Claude Chabrol. The smart Inspector Lavardin comes to a coastal town to investigate a murder and finds many secrets including the killer of the prominent writer. But he also learns the character of the victim, the killer and the people involved in the case. His solution is not "politically correct" but resolves many problems at the same time. The society in Dinan will be certainly better off with the way Lavardin resolved the case. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Inspetor Lavardin" ("Inspector Lavardin")

Jean Poiret is Inspector Lavardine who finds the love of his life after 20 years the widow of the man found nude on the beach in Brittany. She has a lovely 13 year old daughter. There is a relative who paints glass eyes. The murder scene has the clothes of the victim. Lavardine is tricky in the way he gets information. At one point he smashes all the glass eyes off the shelves. He can get very severe if needed. He's nice up to the point where he is frustrated, and then he turns. I enjoyed the creative manner of Levardine. The action and characters were relatable. A very easy film to watch.

In the middle of the eighties, it would be interesting to see what the survivors of the New Wavelet have become. Well, François Truffaut passed away in 1984 and Eric Rohmer persists in signing empty, sloppy films to show his "skills" at film-making. Her majesty Jean-Luc "God Ard" only keeps his small handful of faithful intellectual ones happy with his hermetic products like "Détective" (1985) or "je Vous Salue Marie" (1985). Same judgment for Jacques Rivette who drive many movie-goers indifferent with his version of "les Hauts De Hurlevents" (1985) (Wuthering Heights).

Fortunately, there's still Claude Chabrol to deliver us a worthy, understandable film even if his production as a whole is patchy. In 1985, "Poulet Au Vinaigre" boosted his career again and so the temptation to give it a sequel was inevitable. "Inspecteur Lavardin" is the heir of the 1985 film and features again the same main character plunged in the same bourgeois universe, in a different provincial town this time in Dinand in Brittany. He's still acted by Jean Poiret who seemed irreplaceable in this role.

The writer Raoul Mons was found murdered on the beach and Lavardin has to find the culprit. His investigation is the opportunity for Chabrol to break the respectable appearance of the upper-class milieu but also to include unexpected twists about the plot, notably when Lavardin found who the murderer is. Like in "Poulet Au Vinaigre", humor is the main motor of the film, notably with the way Lavardin employs to make his suspects talk. More than in the 1985 film, the witty personality of this maverick cop is more precise and deepened for the audience.

"Inspectur Lavardin" isn't as intense as "la Femme Infidèle" (1969) or "le Boucher" (1970) but with a palatable story and good acting in the bargain, it would be a shame to skip it. In 1988, a TV series entitled "les dossiers secrets De l'inspector Lavardin" will be launched and four installments will be shot.

NB: video and TV play an important role in the film. It must have given an idea to Chabrol about the direction his next film would take: "Masques" (1987).