Garde à vue
1981 Crime / Drama   
 
Credits
  • Director: Claude Miller
  • Script: Claude Miller, Jean Herman, Michel Audiard, based on the novel "Brainwash" by John Wainwright
  • Photo: Bruno Nuytten
  • Music: Georges Delerue
  • Cast: Lino Ventura (Inspector Antoine Gallien), Michel Serrault (Jerome, Charles, Emile Martinaud), Romy Schneider (Chantal Martinaud), Guy Marchand (Inspector Marcel Belmont), Didier Agostini (Young policeman), Patrick Depeyrrat (Policeman), Pierre Maguelon (Adami), Annie Miller (La mère de Camille)
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Runtime: 86 min
  • Aka: The Inquisitor; Under Suspicion
 
 
 
Summary
In a small French town, two young girls are found raped and murdered.  The obvious suspect is a lawyer, Jérôme Martinaud.  Convinced of his guilt, Inspector Gallien summons Martinaud to his office on New Year’s Eve and starts to interrogate him.  At first, Gallien fails to make any progress, but then Martinaud’s wife appears and makes some shocking revelations...



Review
This brilliantly taut psychological thriller from director Claude Miller features a remarkable confrontation between two leading figures in French cinema, Lino Ventura and Michel Serrault.  The minimalist style of the film heightens the tension, and an enigmatic portrayal by Romy Schneider, plus an excellent script, make this a stylish and inspired piece of cinema.   This film is much better than its mediocre American re-make, Under Suspicion (2000), which starred Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman.

© James Travers 2002


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