Commis d’office (2009) - film review

Having just turned forty, Antoine Lahoud is beginning to lose his enthusiasm for his work as a criminal lawyer.  Surely he is made for better things than the trivial cases he is currently burdened with, cases which earn him a mere pittance for his efforts?   Henry Marsac, a lawyer of some repute, thinks so.   He persuades Antoine to join him in defending big time crooks, a far more lucrative and satisfying pursuit than saving a few petty criminals.  However, Antoine soon discovers that Marsac’s interest in him is far from benevolent...

Hannelore Cayre makes her directorial debut with this idiosyncratic little film which offers a darkly ironic look at the French legal system, specifically the gross inequalities that exist between lawyers at the extreme ends of the income spectrum.   A professional lawyer herself, Cayre draws on her own experiences, adapting her best selling novel of the same title with an obvious note of disdain for some of the less honourable aspects of her career.  Despite some evident shortcomings, Commis d’office is a witty and engaging film which provides an insight into a world which (mercifully) few of us ever get to experience first hand.

Much of the charm of the film lies in the fact that it effectively combines several familiar genres - satire, black comedy, polar and realist drama - without pigeon-holing itself into any of these.  This gives the film a freshness and impression of spontaneity which helps to mask the failings in the screenwriting and direction.  The film’s uneven structure, longueurs and occasional foray into needless vulgarity are mostly compensated for by the captivating performances from the two lead actors, Roschdy Zem and Jean-Philippe Écoffey, who are very well-cast as the players in a wry re-telling of the Faustian legend.  Zem is perfect for the part of the sympathetic lawyer who is torn between his humanist calling (defending those who cannot afford to hire a defence lawyer) and his need to earn a living wage.  And who better to portray Zem’s corrupt and deliciously venal opposite number than Écoffey, who plays the part of a legal Mephistopheles with an obvious relish?  Commis d’office may not be the most polished or astute of legal dramas but it acquits itself admirably with its tongue-in-cheek incursion into France’s far from perfect judiciary.

© James Travers 2011

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