Contre-enquête

First of all, during the last years France is proving to be one of the most interesting 'creators' of front-line quality crime and thriller films. We had successful movies such as 'De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté', '36 Quai des Orfèvres' or most recently 'L'ennemi public nº1' and how can we forget 'Ne le dis à personne'.

The question is, what happened to this one?

It has to be one of the most interesting french movies that I have ever seen and how come I've never heard of it in foreign lands (except France of course)? Not only you have here a genius and meticulous plot, with a final twist that simply blows one away, but also solid performances (Jean Dujardin is excellent as the tough Richard Malinowski) and good directing (Franck Mancuso is a pleasant surprise). It's a short, sharp and accurate crime flick with entertainment guaranteed. It hasn't car chases, gun shooting or explosions, but just mind tricks that fit in perfectly.

This is one of those cases that if it had a different production, it would have make it BIG TIME. And that's a real shame because this little piece of french tape is a lesson of good film-making and the fact that it didn't get much of recognition and visibility left it forgotten.

However, you, the reader, don't forget it and if you have the chance, just watch it because it is 75 minutes of sharp crime flick - 8/10.

... 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).

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.

First "writers_reign" the script is not an adaptation of a novel written by Robert Bloch but by Lawrence Block, also author of "Eight million ways to die" adapted by Hal Ashby. Having said this the movie itself offers a good and unusual performance by Jean Dujardin and a new great one by Laurent Lucas. Franck Mancuso being an ex cop is certainly in a better place that anyone to know about police procedures and does a good job for his first directorial task. It's also great to see a cameo by the late Jean-Pierre Cassel. So, in the end it's a tight (the movie is approx 75mn long) crime drama that don't relies on car chases or gunfights. French thrillers still can be made these days.

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.