Arrêtez-moi (2013)
Directed by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld

Film Review

Jean-Paul Lilienfeld's follow-up to his widely acclaimed social drama La Journée de la jupe (2008) is a similarly off-the-wall piece dealing ironically with a brace of difficult themes, this time domestic violence, guilt and moral judgement.  Adapted from a novel by Jean Teulé, Arrêtez-moi embraces the classical unities (of time, place and action) in a similar manner to Lilienfeld's previous film, with the greater part of the film confined to a police station in the course of one night - something that gives the film a brutally claustrophobic feel and heightens the intensity of the lead actors' performances.  There are some obvious similarities with Claude Miller's Garde à vue (1981), except on this occasion the protagonists are both women and the positions of the murderer and police officer are reversed, with the latter going out of her way to excuse a crime which she believes to be morally justified.

Flashbacks are employed extensively yet effectively to shed light on the two characters' motivations, the most striking being those filmed with the subjective camera, which places the spectator in the position of the supposed murderer (Sophie Marceau).  These latter shots are painful to watch, not just because of the shaky camera motion which is likely to induce nausea, but because they convey so vividly the distress and helplessness of the battered wife as her husband lashes out at her like some deranged animal.  The emotional pain is felt far more keenly than the actual physical blows and, like the police officer Marceau bullies into arresting her (a surprisingly tough Miou-Miou), we find it impossible not to sympathise with her.

Lilienfeld's mise-en-scène is suitably restrained (compared with his earlier over-the-top comedies) but lacks the inspired touch of his previous film.  For all the camera movement (which becomes painfully distracting in a few scenes) the film feels horribly static and a tad theatrical, and even with two such compelling lead actors as Miou-Miou and Sophie Marceau it struggles to hold our attention much beyond the midpoint.  The main let down is a script that fails to develop its interesting premise into a genuinely thoughtful drama but instead toys flippantly with its worthy themes.

Very little of the dialogue rings true and the characters - whilst admirably portrayed by the well-cast principals - have little in the way of depth.  There's a great deal of shouting, a fair amount of hysteria, but far less in  the way of contemplative introspection which might have shed more light on the two main characters and made more sense of their seemingly irrational actions.  Arrêtez-moi is every bit as quirky and distinctive as Lilienfeld's last film (helped by some bizarre excursions towards the surreal) but it lacks substance and coherence and fails to deliver the impact it deserves.  Still, there's some pleasure to be had in seeing Sophie Marceau finally getting her teeth into a meaty part after a decade in which her talents have been mostly wasted.

Film Synopsis

One evening, a woman in her mid-forties casually walks into a police station and confesses to the police officer in charge, another woman, that she murdered her husband ten years ago.  The woman insists on being arrested for her crime but the policewoman becomes increasingly reluctant to do so as the other recounts the circumstances that led her to push her husband from the window of their high-rise apartment.  For years before the tragic incident the woman had been bullied and abused by her partner, and on one occasion he came close to killing her in a violent outburst.  Is it really guilt that has prompted her to seek her arrest or is there another reason?  The policewoman refuses to see her as a criminal, but rather as a victim who should be given a chance to rebuild her life.  Neither woman is willing to give ground and as the evening drags on their positions become increasingly entrenched...