Laura Clifford
Robin CliffordWhen CID chief Robert Mancini (André Dussollier, "A Very Long Engagement") announces his retirement, he makes it clear to BRI head Léo Vrinks (Daniel Auteuil, "The Closet," "Apres Vous") that he is his favored successor. Rival BRB head Denis Klein (Gérard Depardieu, "The Closet") is viewed as a bureaucratic ladder climber and little liked by Vrinks men, but Léo has strange and long held ties to his old colleague. The capture of a brash heist group known as the van gang is made top priority by Mancini's superiors, with whoever brings them down all but assured of the chief's post. Vrinks quickly assumes the lead, but the black compromise he was forced to make is sniffed out by Klein and the two men drag each other to the lowest depths in pursuit of the head office at "36 Quai des Orfèvres."
Laura:
Former police officer Olivier Marchal has directed a beautifully acted, shot and scored cop thriller that is a very worthy addition to France's near domination of the genre. This film was nominated for eight Césars, the French Oscar equivalent, and except for the story's inability to surprise, until the very end at least, "36 Quai des Orfèvres" scores on every front.
The film opens with a bit of effective cross cutting (editing by Achdé). As Vrinks' men boisterously celebrate the imminent retirement of his right hand man Eddy (Daniel Duval, "The Time of the Wolf"), presenting him with a stolen street sign and shooting up the restaurant bar in pursuit of a mouse, three thugs intimidate and beat a club owner. The crime line is blurred, the former group only less guilty due to degree and intent. That club owner turns out to be Manou Berliner (Mylène Demongeot, "Bonjour Tristesse," "Red Lights"), a former prostitute and dear friend of Léo's. He assures Manou's safety by all but killing a man with the assistance of two of his crew.
If Léo wields a vigilante styling of the law, Denis initially seems more by the book. He's introduced at the Van Gang's latest crime scene along with his protege Ève Verhagen (Catherine Marchal), a younger blonde deemed his 'private property' by Vrinks's men. After Léo follows a bum lead on the heist from Manou (in which the suspect, Dragan (Jo Prestia, "Irreversible's" rapist), takes himself and Léo out the window rather than go into custody) he meets late night one on one with Klein in a bar. Klein's upset that Léo didn't tell him about the tip, noting 'It takes two to tango.' 'We're not dancing anymore,' retorts Léo
This move which will come to haunt him when one of Klein's snitches turns up dead. Moving out of his arena and into Léo's, Denis questions an obvious suspect, Hugo Silien (Roschdy Zem, "Merci Docteur Rey"), a man the victim sent to jail who happened to be on jail leave at the time of the hit. But Silien has an alibi - he was with a cop at the time - Léo Vrinks.
"36 Quai des Orfèvres" was written by Dominique Loiseau, Frank Mancuso, Olivier Marchal and Julien Rappeneau, partially based on some of the screenwriters' experiences. The story is a continual contrast of dark upon dark - cops and criminals, good cops and bad cops - peopled with rich, complex characters. The hierarchy, of course, is topped by Vrinks and Klein, and the crux of their contention is a woman - Camille Vrinks (Valeria Golino, "Frida," "Respiro") - who is currently still madly in love with her husband but was at one time involved with Klein. Klein has withdrawn from his own wife, Hélène (Anne Consigny) and treats his mistress coldly - he's drowned heartbreak in his career. The writers skillfully incorporate the undercurrent of an old friendship along with the present rivalry and Léo's subtle recognition of his old friend's loss.
Marchal expertly directs a huge ensemble cast with even tiny roles, such as his own as Christo, Manou's ex-con boyfriend, making an impression. It is particularly gratifying to see the two giants of French cinema actors, Gérard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil, acting together in a feature film for only the fifth time since 1986's "Jean de Florette" (the two actors have appeared in a joint total of about two hundred films, excluding television). Both are excellent, with Auteuil's arc moving from dark to light (actually darker to lighter gray) and crisscrossing with Depardieu's opposing one. As the CID head, André Dussollier gradually exposes his own level of corruption while Francis Renaud ("The Code," "Crimson Rivers 2") represents a weird sort of moral compass as Vrinks' man Titi Brasseur. Auteuil's daughter Aurore ("Intimate Strangers," "Nathalie") plays Vrinks' daughter Lola, who ages from eleven to seventeen, in the latter part of the film.
Widescreen cinematography by Denis Rouden, veteran of seven "Emmanuelle" films, is crisp, featuring lots of rich blacks and cool blues. Stunt choreography is notable, from that swan dive out the window to a terrifically executed shootout. Original music by Erwann Kermorvant and Axelle Renoir starts off as an effective, if stock genre riff then keeps evolving with the mood of the story, with a haunting female voice becoming a beautiful grace note.
With all the complex goings on in this film though, it is really no surprise where it's main two characters end up, but Marchal ensures that the ride is exhilarating nonetheless. "36 Quai des Orfèvres" is a slick, top notch piece of genre filmmaking.
B+Robin:
Robin gives "36 Quai des Orfèvres" an A-.
