Toutes peines confondues
1992 Crime / Drama / Thriller   
 
  • Director: Michel Deville
  • Script: Rosalinde Deville, based on a novel by Andrew Coburn
  • Photo: Bernard Lutic
  • Music: Dmitri Shostakovich
  • Cast: Patrick Bruel (Christophe Vade), Jacques Dutronc (Gardella), Mathilda May (Jeanne Gardella), Sophie Broustal (Laura), Vernon Dobtcheff (Thurston), Bruce Myers (Scandurat), Joël Barbouth (Husquin), Christophe Brault (Blogett), Eric Da Silva (Roselli), Jean Dautremay (Deckler), Jocelyn-Clair Durvel (Blue), Hans Heinz Moser (Scotomacchia), Michael Pas (Nordixen), Bernard Waver (Silos), Benoît Magimel (Thomas), Joseph Malerba (Inspecteur Nolo)
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Runtime: 107 min
  • Aka: Sweetheart
 
 
 
Summary
A young French police inspector, Chrisptophe Vade, is assigned to investigate some mysterious murders in a village in the Swiss Alps.  His superior is a man named Thurston, who uses some unorthodox methods to fight crime.  Vade’s investigations lead him to a wealthy industrialist, Gardella, a dangerous and powerful man…

Review
The central premise of the film – that the man investigating a serious crime should end up distrusting his superior as much as the villains – is an interesting one.  But, despite a fairly good performance from Patrick Bruel, the idea just doesn’t seem to ring true.  From the first scene, Thurston immediately strikes us as a weirdo, and therefore probably not to be trusted.  Meanwhile, the villains remain villains, and pretty nasty ones at that, throughout.  Where is the moral dilemma that Inspector Vade faces?  Why doesn’t he just duck out of the case after the first five minutes?  What keeps him involved?  The film is, however, very competently photographed.

© James Travers 2000


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