Contre-enquête

Released in 2007, the French film is one of the best dramas and investigative thrillers of all time.

Jean Dujardin's character Richard will be seen on the screen in this film which tells the story with emphasis on the emotions of the characters as well as the quests. Laurent Lucas, who came as Daniel to remind us of many important villains, also performed well.

Emily, the ten-year-old daughter of Police Inspector Richard Malinowski, is brutally murdered. Since the victim was the daughter of a police officer, his colleagues attached great importance to finding the culprit immediately.

Defendant Daniel Ekman is in prison. But then he keeps writing letters to Richard saying that he was not the one who did that cruel thing.

The film tells the story of Richard's parallel investigation to find out if Daniel is the real culprit and to find out who caused his Emily's death.

Many of the films that have stories about the murders of loved ones and their endings end in the same direction as revenge. The success of such films often depends on how much revenge the audience can contain.

I found this film to be a good fit. An unexpected climax enjoyed well.

... by a few things. Like how good the movie was, how bad it is rated here and how convincing the main actor was in this (given the movie I saw him before was a spoof, OSS 117). Although I heard he's a big star over in France.

No wonder I say. His performance holds this movie together, which may be a little predictable and might run a bit too long, but it still is a good movie. With a very difficult topic that is. And a relationship between two characters, that is disturbing to say the least. And that's not only counting for the wife of the main character (it's his movie though, which is apparent too), but also with the other main person of the movie. It moves slowly, but if you adapt to that, than you will like it (and the twists will be a nice addition, too).

Jean Dujardin plays "Richard Malinowski", a model cop and family man in this film loaded with famous actors like J. P. Cassel, Aurélien Recoing and J. F. Garreaud. Beautiful Caroline Santini plays the unknowing victim of a psychopath so well you can't forget her case easily. Visually beautiful, great music, a rather classic/ conventional plot in the beginning, but the movie doesn't deliver if you know how to wait.

Claire M., the long-suffering wife of our main character, could've been better developed, following instead the well trodden lines of the "wife that doesn't understand the hero, leaves him at the worst moment, is cold and always complaining". I'd expect a better leading female character, at least in a film made in 2007.

What I most liked is the cop culture of fellowship, even when they know what their "brothers in arms" are up to. They protect each other. For good or for bad :).

Enjoy!

PS: To the fellow IMDb reviewer "kosmasp": Yes, Dujardin is very well known in France, he's always at Cannes, having just won the best actor prize there with the beautiful film "L'Artiste" with Bérénice Bejo, for instance.

Having watched for years Jean Dujardin in his hilarious sitcom "Un Gars Une Fille" ,I was wondering how he would manage in a dramatic story.He is quite convincing ,as is Laurent Lucas in a shady role.The story is ,except for the debatable ending,close to the famous Boileau-Narcejac frame-ups with a dash of Patricia Highsmith thrown in for good measure ,but the characters lack in-depth psychology.The movie is too short and the part of Daniel is underwritten.The scene when Dujardin arrives on the scene of the crime shows the influence of Clint Eastwood's "Mystic river" .All in all,this is a rather good thriller,which could have been really great.The short nightmare scene ("I can't ,dad,I'm dead") is effective.

Through persistent correspondence over the course of three years and new elements in his possession, police captain Malinowski starts to doubt the man convicted for his 10 year old daughter's rape and murder is actually guilty and starts a counter-investigation on his own.

Written and directed by ex-cop Franck Mancuso (also co-writer of the great 36 Quai Des Orfèvres), Contre-Enquête is a very good, well-made film, certainly the best French crime film of 2007 out of those I've seen so far (which include Le Deuxième Soufflé, Chrysalis and ex-top spot holder Pars Vite Et Reviens Tard). So-hot-right-now Jean Dujardin is very good in his first truly serious role I've seen, and the rest of the cast do a good job as well, especially Laurent Lucas as Daniel Eckmann, the convict. The script, based on a short story by Lawrence Block (screenwriter of Wong Kar-Wai's English-language effort My Blueberry Nights) is greatly written and keeps the suspense going and the viewer wondering until the very end. Good crime thriller, check it out if you have the chance.