Film Review
An uncomfortable mélange of Agatha Christie-style murder mystery
and barbed social satire,
Vous
êtes de la police? only just avoids tumbling into the
pitfall of the worst kind of caricature but it is spectacularly
redeemed by the spirited contributions from its distinguished
cast. The whodunit intrigue may struggle to hold our attention,
the action may crawl along at a dawdling Zimmer Frame pace, but none of
this takes away the pleasure of watching an ageing Jean-Pierre Cassel
fend off the amorous advances of elderly maneater Micheline Presle as
he gives Robert T. Ironside a run (or rather a sedate wheelchair-bound
amble) for his money, whilst Philippe Nahon gets out the blue suede
shoes and gives geriatric rockers an
extremely
bad name.
For his first feature, Belgian director Romuald Beugnon sets himself
the challenge of delivering an entertaining genre film whilst exploring
some highly topical themes, namely society's attitudes towards the
elderly and how individuals cope with the personal trauma of growing
old. Despite his best efforts, Beugnon clearly overstretches
himself and the film, whilst good-natured and engaging, doesn't quite
have the punch that it should.
Vous
êtes de la police? could have been either a gratuitously
sick black comedy or an extremely cogent reflection on how we regard
and care for the elderly, but it ends up as neither of these
things. Instead, what we get is a rather tepid comedy-thriller
that makes your average Miss Marple TV film look like the raunchiest
thing every to hit the cathode ray tube since Roentgen's discovery of
the X-ray.
What saves the film and prevents it from being the best substitute to a
mug of Horlicks are the wonderfully feisty performances from some
much-loved veteran actors. Jean-Pierre Cassel gives a far more
authentic and poignant portrayal of a man struggling to come to terms
with his lack of autonomy than the film deserves, and there is
something deeply tragic and pathetic in Philippe Nahon's portrayal of
an ageing rocker - in both cases, there is a sobering reminder of the
sweet brevity of youth and the cruel torments that await us all in our
declining years. Chronos has been much kinder to Micheline Presle
- despite the odd laughter line, she somehow manages to appear just as
glamorous and full of life as she was when she first ignited the
celluloid with her charm and beauty in the 1940s. Equally,
Jean-Claude Brialy impresses with the vitality of a man half his
age. Alas, this was to be the last screen outing for both Brialy
and Cassel - both actors died from cancer within six months of making
the film, in the spring of 2007.
Vous êtes de la police? may
have its shortcoming but it does provide a respectable swansong for two
of French cinema's great acting talents. However,
thanks to Yolande Moreau's depiction of the Norman Bates
approach to care for the aged, it probably
isn't the best advertisement for retirement homes...
© James Travers 2011
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Retired police inspector Simon Sablonnet reluctantly allows himself to
be admitted to an old people's home when he begins to have difficulty
moving around. Fortunately, his change of circumstances is less
traumatic than he feared and he soon makes several new friends,
including Alfred Lamproie, the previous owner of the home. When
Alfred falls to his death from a staircase, Simon is convinced that he
was pushed, perhaps by the same person who smeared nail varnish on the
door of his room. But no one else, least of all the people who
run the home, believes that Alfred was murdered. Joining forces
with Francky, a kleptomaniac and ageing rocker, the former police
inspector begins his own investigation, and soon puts his life in peril...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.