Maigret

Slow pacing, gloomy atmosphere, linear plot, nothing original in a crime story.

Yet, it's a beautiful movie, perfectly executed.

Depardieu has a presence, seemingly effortless. Patrice Leconte has an entire career to show for.

All in all, a good movie.

Methodical, old-fashioned whodunit, with perhaps the no 1 icon of French cinema for the past 4 or so decades finally playing perhaps the most iconic French detective in film history. And he is perfect as an old, down but not out Maigret; capturing his weariness from the passage of time, but also his determination to see justice done one more time. The mystery is short on suspects, but I liked the script's step-by-step structuring, with each small clue leading Maigret to the next one. Leconte does a fine, atmospheric job; with him at the helm, Depardieu in the main role and a more complicated script, the next Maigret movie (assuming it gets made) should have real potential. *** out of 4.

Gérard Depardieu takes up the pipe to play the indefatigable commissaire Maigret. He is such an obvious casting choice with his understated intelligence, gentle wit, and hulking physique that it's a wonder he hadn't played the part before. At age 73, he is quite obviously too old for the part. He spends most of the movie leaning or sitting down and the few times we see him walk he seems barely able to amble along. But this seems to be how director Patrice Leconte has reimagined the character anyway.

His Maigret is an old man, easily tired, contemplating his mortality. He is introduced while in the middle of a doctor's appointment. He's in fine physical health we're told but the weight of the world seems to be on his shoulders. No, this Maigret is not alright. There's something severely wrong with him, a kind of emptiness eating him from the inside. He's dying and he's aware of it.

Another obvious fit for a Maigret movie is director/writer Patrice Leconte who had previously made the superb Simenon adaptation "Monsieur Hire". His direction here is curiously frigid, styleless and distant. This is not an easy movie to watch. It's so weighed down with sorrow that it becomes downright oppressive. It plays out in vast open spaces cluttered with garbage - long discarded, broken things, once useful now forgotten and in the way. His Paris resembles a post-apocalyptic wasteland which, like the one in Richard Lester's "Bed Sitting Room", bears certain signs that it was once inhabited by a civilization.

A clue as to Leconte's artistic intentions is hidden in a sombre and impactful scene in which Maigret interviews an elderly Jewish man (André Wilms) looking for a daughter he'll never find. He sits in his office surrounded by antique chairs stacked on antique desks and wrapped in cobwebs and dust. "When you lose your child you lose everything," he says, "There's nothing left. Only the night."

The plot follows Maigret as he investigates the death of a young woman found stabbed and discarded on the street like a piece of trash. He doesn't know her name or anything about her but slowly, by following the smallest clues, he pieces together her entire personality. Before he even identifies her he can say things like "she would never do that" with absolute certainty.

He finds this out by talking to various people, some of whom knew her, some of whom didn't, and some of whom are lying they didn't. These people include an actress who isn't an actress living her life on sets opening fake doors, a rich and arrogant man who lives with his mother and relies entirely on her platitudes, a judge obsessed with his pet fish, and a pharmacist who issues drugs based on her customer's faces.

The performances are excellent especially that of Jade Labeste as Betty, a poor girl Maigret encounters on the streets and whom he is determined not to allow to suffer the same fate as the girl whose death he is investigating. Labeste's charismatic, world-weary performance is the standout of the film and has a certain classical quality that reminded me of the French cinema of the 1960s. I can't wait for her to lead a film all on her own.

These small characters are the most important and their plights and the world they inhabit together are at the centre of the film. In that sense, this is one of the most accurate Simenon adaptations. What Leconte's film doesn't manage, however, is the delicate balance between character study and thriller.

Simenon knew that his psychological treatise needed a solid motor in the form of a mystery plot to keep the readers interested and the story on track. Leconte, in building up the characters, far too often lets the plot fall by the wayside. The result is a film which is intriguing and atmospheric but frequently aimless, uneven and taxing on its audience's patience.

He has little interest in the whodunnit aspect of the story which results in "Maigret" lacking a solid framework and, more importantly, a sense of narrative propulsion. Consequently, the pacing suffers, feeling alternatively too slow or too fast depending on Leconte's interest in the given scene. Exposition is quickly dealt with and the plot frequently gets muddy.

In "Maigret", I admired the ambition more than the result and the whole is less than the sum of its parts. The production design, the idea, and the performances are all superb but the film collapses under its own weight. It's a dour, depressing, hopeless sit without a strong narrative to buoy its heady artistic intentions.

Mystery, suspense, intrigue with terrific performance by Gerard Depardieu-Maigret , giving life to his determined-serious-exhausted "commissaire" , investigating the identity of some ruthless and mean murderers . As always, this film occurs in Paris, and surroundings , there happens a grisly killing . In Paris, a young girl is found dead in a Parisian square, wearing an evening dress. Commissioner Maigret will try to identify her and then understand what happened to the victim. Maigret's officers are the expert elite of the Brigade Criminelle at the Quay Des Orfevres. To help solve the murders Maigret leaving fake tracks . By the way , discovering sartorial evidence against an allegedly guilty . Detective Maigret becomes extremely involved into investigation and pulls off a cat and mouse game with the killer . The obstinate inspector winds up pitting a stubborn rival against each other in order to destroy him in a relentless investigation .

This is an acceptable and attractive study in crime displaying thriller , tension , plot twists and being entertaining enough, though some moments result to be slow-moving and dull . Here Maigret is called upon to lend its expertise in tracking down a twisted killer , as he is resolute in investigating the astonishing crime and about an obscure anonymous Parisian, an investigation that ultimately links clues and he solves it . Mysterious events , red herrings , grisly murder , suspenseful happenings with awesome acting by Depardieu-Maigret investigating the murderer's identity , along with Aurore Clement who many years earlier played in Coppola's Apocalypse Now and he even sets a trap to catch the murderer . The pace is good , alert , nimbly done . This movie is concise , sharp , practical , each actor is cut out for the part . Interesting and exciting battle of wits between the intelligent detective and his contender. The story explores the dynamics of pathological behaviour and very much in the style of psychoanalytic descriptions fitting fairly to George Simenon novels . The camera-work is sleek , but what actually makes this film a major work is that the authors are true to the spirit of Simenon : peculiar roles tremendously affected into the deeps of human desperation , as the obstinate Maigret and murderers disillusioned with human nature and terrible with those who are victims . Casting is frankly well . Stars veteran Gerard Depardieu , here he plays the character in such a vibrantly nuanced manner, as that of a man who is measured, but very engaged in walking the streets and getting into the nitty gritty of each case . Gerard Depardieu as obstinate detective is top-notch, the film benefits from his great interpretation . Depardieu is perfectly cast as the world-weary Police Inspector who is pondering retirement when the re-emergence of grisly killings and then back into action with a supremely clever plan to trap the murderer . It packs a dark and shading cinematography who shows splendidly the Paris streets , though mostly made in studios, and exteriors filmed on location in Quai de Bourbon, Paris 4, Paris, Rue Saint-Vincent, Paris 18, Paris, Square Alboni, Paris 16, Paris, Studios de Bry - 2 avenue de l'Europe, Bry-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne . The motion picture was professionally directed by Patrice Leconte . He proves a past master at creating a stifling , murky atmosphere night scenes, foggy streets , managing to make the tension rise and swell regularly until it explodes at the ending . Leconte is a prestigious writer and director who has made notorious films , such as : Ridicule , The Man on the Train , Felix and Lola , Tango Mortale, Yvonne's fragrance, Monsieur Hire , The was of the Misses , The girl on the bridge , among others.

This Psychological Suspense story is based on George Simenon legendary detective , being one of the most-adapted Simenon stories . George Simenon's Maigret has been adapted on several cinematic rendition and TV series . As Maigret was played by Basil Sidney ( The lost life,TV, 59) , Gino Cervi (Maigret in Pigalle, 67) , Rupert Davies (series from 60s) , Richard Harris (TV, 1988), Michael Gambon (TV,1993) , Sergio Castellitto (2004) . But specially by Jean Gavin who played 'Maigret tend un piège' (1958) , 'Maigret and the St Fiacre case (59)' , among others . In Hollywood was realized by Burguess Meredith 'The man on the Eiffel tower' (1949) with Charles Laughton as Maigret . And the usual comical actor Rowan Atkinson played Maigret in 4 episodes with special mention for ¨Maigret sets a trap¨ (2016) with Rowan Atkinson , Luci Cohu , Shaun Dingwall , Fiona Lewis . Rating : Acceptable and passable and worth watch checking out. The movie will appeal to Gerard Depardieu fans and intrigue lovers , as it contains a highly suspense.

From the director of the excellent Monsieur Hire - still one of the best Simenon adaptations - you certainly expect more than this tired, geriatric and rather pedestrian treatment. It's all very dark bluish, with unsteady camera, listless performances and general air of fatigue (it opens with Maigret's visit to the doctor).

It's a pity Lecont and Depardieu couldn't make Maigret sooner, in their better years (the novel was filmed before - much more lively if not particularly excitingly - with Jean Richard in 1973).