Garde à vue

The genre known as the 'police procedural' has been around since Wilkie Collins in the late nineteenth century and has reached the heights cinematically with Clouzot's 'Quai des Orfevres' and the 'High and Low' of Kurosawa.

We owe a debt of thanks to brilliant screen writer Michel Audiard, himself no stranger to this type of material, for spotting the potential of John Wainwright's novel 'Brainwash' from 1979. Audiard also contributes dialogue to this adaptation, thereby ensuring that the characters have plenty to say!

Wainwright, a private and taciturn Yorkshireman who described himself as a 'teller of tales and nothing more', is, alas, pretty well forgotten now. He acknowledged his admiration for Ed McBain's '87th Precinct' series whilst the authenticity of the interrogation methods in his books stems from his having been a policeman for over twenty years!

One of the many joys of French cinema is its emphasis on character rather than plot and here Claude Miller has the golden opportunity of directing his four main protagonists in a confined space. The darkness outside and the rain lashing at the windows merely serve to heighten the tensions.

Needless to say, a film like this only works if one is absorbed by the characters. How could one fail to be when these are played by Lino Ventura and Guy Marchand as 'good' cop and 'bad' cop respectively, Michel Serrault as the suspect and Romy Schneider as his wife?

This is film acting of the highest quality in which the psychological penetration and ever-changing dynamics are utterly riveting. Serrault deservedly picked up a César for his portrayal. He has the showier role of course whilst the customary 'little is good, less is better' performance by Ventura is mesmerising. Guy Marchand's depiction of 'brawn over brain' is effective. Romy Schneider once again tugs at the heart strings. Her death the following year and the deep sadness that preceded it, makes her performance, in retrospect, even more touching.

The ending, for some, is a little too 'convenient' but is no less powerful for that.

The critical and commercial success of this piece gave Claude Miller a much-needed boost as his directorial career had been in the doldrums.

Twenty years were to elapse before Hollywood filmed the obligatory remake. The result wasn't worth the wait!

Fine piece of a psychological approaching over the veteran police Inspector Gallien (Lino Ventura) and the suspect Jerome Martinaud (Michael Serrault) of two murders and rapes of two young girls, under pleasure by the skilled Gallien who impose an strategic guideline to extract a confession, in other hand the smart Jerome an old man with a failed marriage has to answer the several double meaning questions, the cold and stiffing atmosphere on the room at the police precinct is extremely grueling for both and more to the viewers neither, even having break a couple times in between when it's back starts all over again, until a key witness appears, Jerome's wife, Chantal Martinaud (Romy Schneider, how was beauty yet) the accused refuses meeting her, then Gallien has a private conversation on a separate room, after a long talk at last the convinced Inspector has a card hidden on his sleeve, even never hearing nothing over the Director Claude Miller, he made a fabulous and complex picture, when you suppose that all are settled, then goes a crowning surprise, according my feelings both Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin were the greatest French actors of all times and this picture states that, also Serrault deserves my greetings for such performance!!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD/ Rating: 8.75

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 :)?

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.

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.