 |
|
||||
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Upcoming Release Calendar
38
12 Rounds Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Le Petit Lieutenant
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring Nathalie Baye, Jalil Lespert, Roschdy Zem, Antoine Chappey, Jacques Perrin, Bruce Myers, Patrick Chauvel, and Jean Lespert
A gripping police noir, Le Petit Lieutenant tells the story of Antoine, an ambitious young cop from the provinces who joins a plainclothes crime unit in Paris. Antoine spends his days eagerly awaiting his first assignment, drinking with his fellow detectives, and developing and unlikely relationship with his superior, a veteran policewoman with a troubled past. But when the body of a drifter is found murdered along the Seine, a seemingly routine investigation suddenly turns violent and forever changes all their lives. (Cinema Guild)
| GENRE(S): | Crime | Drama | Foreign |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Cédric Anger
Xavier Beauvois Guillaume Bréaud Jean-Eric Troubat |
| DIRECTED BY: | Xavier Beauvois |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: April 10, 2007 Theatrical: September 8, 2006 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 110 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | French (with English subtitles) |
| LANGUAGE(S): | France |
Best Actress (Baye), 2006 César Awards; Nominated, Best Director, Best Film, Best Supporting Actor (Zem) and Best Writing - Original, 2006 César Awards; Cinema Europa Prize, 2005 Venice Film Festival
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Chad S. gave it an8:
When Caroline(Nathalie Baye) asks Antoine(Jalil Lespert) why he became a cop, the young lieutenant cites the movies as an influence. "Le Petit Lieutenant" isn't "In the Heat of the Night", this crime-drama won't be luring any young impressionable kids to the force, not with its depictions of office work and tedious interviews with an uncolorful assortment of witnessess. As Antoine drives around Paris for the first time in a cop car, he simulates the high-speed chases of his movie-going days to get out of traffic. In doing so, he makes the audience aware that "Le Petit Lieutenant" is attempting something atypical of the police procedural genre; which is, that on most days, being a policeman can be a pretty unremarkable job. For most of its running time, the only time a gun gets fired is at a shooting range. "La Petit Lieutenant" deepens considerably when Caroline overtakes Antoine as the film's protagonist. We're unsure if she sees her subordinate as a surrogate son, or a potential lover. This enigma makes her face an interesting mask to study.
George L. gave it a10:
A spare, beautifuly crafted film that takes the police genre to a deeper level while delivering on the action and suspense.
Kevin A gave it a9:
Wonderful realism - essentially the antithesis of the Lethal Weapon movies. Detectives are actually humans who have (most of the time) relatively dull jobs. This film led me into a world I was previously unfamiliar with, as other detective films always marked of non-realism. That's a great job of the film, no?
Filmfan gave it a5:
This is not a bad film, but it is just totally unexceptional in every way. TV drama caliber.
Jay W. gave it a7:
A realistic police procedural done in semi-documentary style and with French verve. Wonderful ensemble cast. Could have used a heavier hand in the editing department.
Michael W. gave it a10:
This is the best police film I've seen -- and I'm no youth. Nathalie Baye is brilliant. I find criticisms of superbly rendered films for their "slow pacing" to be juvenile...but to each his/her own.
 |
Return to top of page |  |
