Several reviewers seem bored, annoyed or just disappointed by this film.
Well, it is not a crime film. The trial scene tells you that, when the defending lawyer presents his case to a grinning judge in song. And the policeman leading the case, who we never see, has been bonking one of the key witnesses, the glamorous pedicurist and tango dancer. The mystery elements are not meant to be taken seriously, being almost a McGuffin, for it is not really a police or detective story nor, with the fanciful coincidences and whimsical names, is it plot-driven.
So what on earth is the film about? For a start it is a tribute to Maigret, France's most famous fictional detective. Maigret had a loyal wife who kept him well fed and took an intelligent interest in his cases. Bellamy's lovely wife keeps him lively in bed as well. Maigret studied people, had a way of getting them to talk and then listened acutely. Watch how brilliant Bellamy is, particularly with women who, even if they do not give him the whole truth (how many do?), certainly tell him a lot.
As so often in French cinema and literature, what we have is an exploration of relationships, of interactions between people, analyses of character. The title tells us that, It is about Bellamy, his life, his work, his delightful wife and in particular his dark side. Here, his half-brother is his evil shadow who inverts all his values. Bellamy has given up drink and his brother is an alcoholic. While Bellamy upholds the law, his brother steals from everybody. Bellamy seeks out the truth: his brother tells lie after lie
What we are given by the ageing Chabrol is a journey into the mind of a man who has spent his working life fighting crime yet, like all of us, has the hidden criminal within him. By spending time with Bellamy, we see some of his essential humanity and so see something of ourselves.
