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Maigret

This version of author Georges Simenon's famous detective is the latest in a pedigree stretching back to the 1930s. Pierre Renoir (son of Impressionist Pierre Auguste, brother of director Jean), Charles Laughton, Jean Gabin, Richard Harris, Michael Gambon (two Dumbledores right there) and even Rowan Atkinson have all played Detective Maigret. That could play as a variation of the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon - what links Mr. Bean to Luncheon of the Boating Party? Anyway, this 2022 iteration is housed in the formidable personage of Gérard Depardieu and he's calmly excellent. He can do this kind of role in his sleep, and I'm nicking this adjective from Roly - what he does in Maigret seems effortless.

Whether it's Simenon or writer/director, Patrice Leconte or perhaps co-writer, Jérôme Tonnerre to thank, they give Depardieu some golden lines to deliver. His grumpy coaxing of his underling in how to smoke a pipe is top drawer - "You're sucking it, you have to puck, puck, puck." It's these minor moments and Depardieu's performance that lift this slightly from the average. This Maigret is based on the 1954 novel, Maigret and the Dead Girl, and that should give you an inkling as to its topic. Maigret is being told to quit smoking and take care of his health when news of a dead girl in a park arrives. Earlier, said girl, Louise Louvière (Clara Antoons) is getting ready for a high society party, where she's confronted by a young woman and her fiancé, Jeanine and Laurent (Mélanie Bernier and Pierre Moure). This is the last we see of her alive.

Maigret is a very traditional thriller, light on actual thrills but heavy on charm. If this were a 'modern' suspense film, there'd likely be layer upon layer of detail, twists unfolding one after the other. Maigret, though, is all rather staid and almost desultory in its handling of story. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, it's kind of refreshing, in fact, to see a film lacking in 'snap' moments, one that puts in faith in novelistic structure and atmosphere. Aside from the 'whodunit' through-line, there are quietly affecting scenes, especially involving Maigret and Betty (Jade Labeste), a girl with a similar look and backstory to Louise. It seems initially that Maigret has a plan to use Betty as bait to trap the killer, which he tries, but there's also a paternal instinct underpinning his motives. Much of this is hinted at in a conversation between Betty and Madame Maigret (Anne Loiret).

This is a pleasantly diverting Parisian period piece, lifted by Depardieu's star turn. It's not a must-see but you could do a lot worse at the cinema.

Maigret opens at the Luna and Palace cinemas on May 26th.

See also:

I'm going to go with one from Depardieu and one from Leconte, both masters of their fields. The late 70s and all of the 80s was Depardieu's peak and it's hard to choose one, but I'll go for Jean de Florette (1986), directed by Claude Berri. Ridicule (1996) is Leconte's most famous and one of his best.

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