36 Quai des Orfèvres (2004)
Directed by Olivier Marchal

Film Review

Director Olivier Marchal clearly likes his crime thrillers fast, hard-boiled and dialogue sparse.  After his ultra-violent first film, Gangsters (2002), 36 Quai des Orfèvres is an equally brutal portrayal of life on the mean streets of Paris, a relentless orgy of pacey action stunts and spectacles of mindless violence of the kind that are now de rigueur in the thriller genre.  Whilst the film is at times visually stunning, it's a clear case of style over substance.  The threadbare plot (which is absolutely riddled with clichés) doesn't stand up to even a passing scrutiny and the characters are about as absurd and implausible as you can imagine (even if the acting generally isn't too bad).

This is an incoherent showy schoolboy fantasy à la Luc Besson, not a serious crime drama.  Even the presence of such world class actors as Daniel Auteuil and Gérard Depardieu cannot disguise the fact (although, on the strength of their contributions to this film, both are looking distinctly well past their best.)  Anyone expecting something in the tradition of the classic French thriller can only be disappointed by this film, which is not much more than a slavish imitation of the latest species of tough and ever-more vacuous American cop movie.

Film Synopsis

For the past few months, Paris has been assailed by a series of increasingly violent armoured car robberies.  Mindful of public opinion, the chief of police, Robert Mancini, is determined that the culprits be brought to book as quickly as possible and to that end he offers a personal challenge to two of his best men - Léo Vrinks and Denis Klein.  Manicini tells them that the one who is successful in apprehending the criminal gang will succeed him upon his retirement, which is only a short time away.  Vrinks and Klein are equally determined to succeed in the mission but they go about it in totally different ways.  Klein has no time for his rival's rigour and morality - he will do whatever it takes to get his boss's job, even if it means stepping way outside the law...