Don't get me wrong, this movie is not bad, actually it's even good. But with a great story like that, a dream cast (Auteuil and Depardieu are among the best actors the French cinema has ever had. It's no exaggeration to compare them to people like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro or Harvey Keitel) and a reasonable budget this movie could have been so much more.
I see three major problems that lower the pleasure of viewing this film.
First, the pace of the movie. There are too many lengths that cut the suspense. Probably a good editor could have arranged the given material into a real thriller, while here it's often just at the limit of boredom.
Second, the illogical and impossible facts of the story. How can a corrupt cop get away with everything even when there are at least 10 witnesses, while a really good cop is sent to jail for several years without any evidence? How can a judge and/or a jury believe a single witness that had just one second, in the dark and through 2 windows to identify a man she has never seen before? Come on! Things like that ruin the whole story that is otherwise very clever.
And thirdly, an apparently unmotivated Depardieu. This man can be great, really great on screen. But unfortunately he can also be mediocre, as he is here. When you know how good someone can be, it's an even greater disappointment to see that he's so far away from what he could achieve.
It's a shame that Olivier Marchal failed to make a great movie. He had all the right ingredients and did 95% right. But he failed on the last 5%. I can't give it more than a 6/10
I see three major problems that lower the pleasure of viewing this film.
First, the pace of the movie. There are too many lengths that cut the suspense. Probably a good editor could have arranged the given material into a real thriller, while here it's often just at the limit of boredom.
Second, the illogical and impossible facts of the story. How can a corrupt cop get away with everything even when there are at least 10 witnesses, while a really good cop is sent to jail for several years without any evidence? How can a judge and/or a jury believe a single witness that had just one second, in the dark and through 2 windows to identify a man she has never seen before? Come on! Things like that ruin the whole story that is otherwise very clever.
And thirdly, an apparently unmotivated Depardieu. This man can be great, really great on screen. But unfortunately he can also be mediocre, as he is here. When you know how good someone can be, it's an even greater disappointment to see that he's so far away from what he could achieve.
It's a shame that Olivier Marchal failed to make a great movie. He had all the right ingredients and did 95% right. But he failed on the last 5%. I can't give it more than a 6/10