Légitime violence (1982) - film review

In the course of a violent hold-up at Deauville station, several innocent bystanders are shot dead.  The victims include a politician, Robert Andréani, and three members of the same family.  Devastated by the death of his wife, daughter and mother, Martin Modot resolves that their killers will be brought to justice.  When the police fail to make any progress in their investigation, he decides to take matters into his own hands, with the support of a neo-fascist vigilante organisation.  What Modot doesn’t realise is that the slaughter of his family was collateral damage in a carefully planned political assassination.  His bid for vengeance will serve only those who were behind the killings and who now seek to cover their tracks...

Although political thrillers were beginning to get a little passé in France by the 1980s (the genre was at its height in the previous decade), some film directors were still able to use the formula effectively to tell an entertaining story whilst making some valid socio-political observations.  Légitime violence is a fairly good example of the 1980s néo-polar, a sombre film noir thriller which picks up on the growing trend for vigilantism in France, a do-it-yourself approach too crime management that arose from perceived failings of the police and judiciary in the previous decade.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe this as a post-néo-polar, since it is concerned not so much with the complicity of police, politicians and criminals, but with the public reaction to this once it had become apparent that such corruption was endemic in France.

Well-directed by Serge Leroy (who is better known for his television work), Légitime violence boasts some impressively staged action sequences and excellent performances, with a particularly memorable contribution from Claude Brasseur.  The latter is perfectly cast as the ordinary guy who sets out to avenge the death of his family only to end up a pawn in a complex and potentially deadly game of political-judicial chess.  Although the plot is far too intricate and convoluted for its own good (and ends with many questions left unanswered), the film still manages to be a compelling and thought-provoking work, thanks to its convincing characterisation and startlingly gritty realisation.  It presages the darker, more violent crime thrillers that would become de rigueur in the 1980s and subsequent decades.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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