The Young Lieutenant (2005)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Memorable, crazy movie

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Antoine, a young lieutenant, fresh from the police academy, wants to be assigned to the Paris police force. He feels that by staying in Le Havre he will be missing his call, which is to be in an exciting environment where his talent will matter and he will be appreciated by his peers and superiors. Antoine gets his wish by getting place in the homicide division where there is always some unexpected thing happening. As Antoine is about to begin his career in Paris, a new police supervisor, Caroline Vaudieu, returns to take command of this unit. She had been away from active duty for a while. In welcoming her back the head of the department congratulates her on being sober for quite some time now. Caroline is battling her own demons in her tragic life because of the death of her son, years ago. In fact, she remarks her late child could have been the same age as Antoine,had he still been among the living. The death of a homeless person under strange circumstances brings the homicide unit into action. Everything points out to a duo of undocumented Russian immigrants who manage to elude the police investigation trying to capture them. Antoine, who gets the assignment, together with his partner, Morbe, to go after one of the pair who has been hiding in a hostel, makes a tactical error by going alone to the criminal's room, something that ends with fatal consequences. Caroline is devastated by what happened to her young subordinate, vowing to get the criminal, no matter what.A great "policier" directed with sure hand by Xavier Beauvois, who also collaborated in the screenplay, as well as portrayed Morbe, a man whose mistake proves to be the cause the end of a young man's police career. The police work is examined with accurate detail by the director who keeps things moving, getting his audience immersed in the story. One realizes not all the police work is non stop action.we watch the men for what they are, comrades in arms working to protect the citizens of their area. It also presents a human soul suffering, as is the case of Caroline, a woman whose life has known great suffering in her life and her struggle to keep away from drinking herself into oblivion.Nathalie Baye makes an excellent, and complex, Caroline. One can sense her pain. She is mourning for a loss that was a terrible blow for a mother. Her becoming an alcoholic ruins her career until she decides to get over her self pity, returning to a job in which she excels. Ms Baye is seen experiencing emotions that one can identify with. Jalil Lespert's new police lieutenant credible. He is perfectly eager doing a job he always dreamed about. Roschy Zem keeps getting better all the time,as he shows here. Jacques Perrin has a small, but effective role as Caroline's old lover. The excellent supporting cast is a joy to watch in an ensemble effort.

Le Petit Lieutenant makes Eastern Promises look like the mediocre knock off it is. "Eastern..." has nothing substantial to offer beyond a couple of signature scenes and is ultimately forgettable after the echo of its posturing and violence subside (can't really understand why the critics adore Cronenberg so much), and it is no more evident than when I compare his film to another that works so much better, like Le Petit Lieutenant (an 8 1/2 out of 10) Both are dramas that operate fully within the "crime genre," but whereas there is very little that is original or compelling beyond the dramatic pretense of Eastern Promises, the French film is rich with characterizations and direction that lend depth to its realistic story. Whereas "Eastern..." creates slick, hip Hollywood scenes that tease and gratify our primal senses without really engaging any of its real dilemmas, "Petit..." draws us in (via a casual documentary like style) to the life of a young detective just out of cadet school who is becoming familiar with his co-workers and line of work on the streets of Paris. It is through him and his interactions with everything around him that we begin to experience something more dramatic, almost without realizing it, until the tragedy of common (rather than postured) occurrence invades our psyche, and plays out amidst a suspense created by the tension of anxiety, anguish, and inner strength of his chief inspector (a woman), portrayed with great humanity by Nathalie Baye. Like all Hollywood movies, Eastern Promises offers the semblance of real drama at the beginning, only to abandon its stories and characters as it lapses into the improbability and titillation we have all grown accustomed to at the cinema. The french film, on the other hand, demonstrates its concern for the people it has given life to by engaging our own humanity rather than our anticipation of the next thrill that lies around the corner....your cinewest correspondent

Director Xavier Beauvois, with the intelligent and sensitive script he co-wrote with Cédric Anger, Guillaume Bréaud and Jean-Eric Troubat, allows us, the viewers, to look inside the minds and lives of those people who commit to police work in a manner that pays homage to a maligned group and reinstates our visceral support to the spectrum of on the edge terror mixed with spaces of ennui that these people endure. LA PETIT LIEUTENANT is not a crime film: it is a deeply touching inside view of the men and women who protect us.Opening with well-staged Le Havre Police Academy graduation images Beauvois focuses on newly graduated Antoine Derouère (Jalil Lespert) as he says goodbye to his family and his wife Julie (Bérangère Allaux), a school teacher who pleads with Antoine not to leave Le Havre for Paris, the destination Antoine seeks to prove his desire for an active detective career. The kind but inexperienced Antoine takes up residence in Paris and is assigned to a homicide unit with equally inexperienced young men who learn the ropes of owning a gun, the embarrassment of performance problems at the shooting range, the awkward first 'arrests' and interrogations, and the endless hours of sitting at a desk waiting for activity. Newly assigned as the head of Antoine's unit is Commandant Caroline Vaudieu (the extraordinary actress Nathalie Baye) who has just come off a two year sabbatical to recover from alcoholism and the associated death of her son from meningitis. The manner in which these people bond is quiet and sensitive and when finally a case comes to their attention - a man found dead in the canal - the force joins begins what they all need to do: the killer must be found.Clues are explored, people are traced, and Antoine and Vandieu form a particularly close bond, Antoine reminding Vandieu of the son she has lost and Vandieu providing the model for his career. Tension mounts as the criminals are pursued, coincidences occur and a tragedy cracks the bond of the group, affecting each member of the small force immeasurably. It is this very human happening and its effects that wind the movie down to moments of painful acceptance of the life of police people.The entire cast is first rate and provides ensemble acting that is among the finest on screen. But the portrayal by Nathalie Baye is so multifaceted, embracing the inner trauma of personal losses not only of those she loves but also of her own sense of dignity as she faithfully attends AA meetings, that her performance is triumphant. Jalil Lespert also captures the fine line between innocence and experience that makes his portrait of a new detective not only completely credible but also one that leaves a mark on the heart. The direction and the cinematography by Caroline Champetier keep the film nearly monochromatic, the only color that is left to shock us for a brief moment is the red blood at moments of tension. And the lack of a musical score keeps the tone of the humanity of the film intact, never reducing it to a bombastic Hollywood chase and kill film. This is a little jewel of a film that deserves a very wide audience. Highly Recommended. In French, Polish, and Russian with English subtitles. Grady Harp

I saw the movie being a French police officer. Usually I don't like movies about French police for they are mostly very unrealistic.There however we have a story about what could be a regular case in one of the most important Crime Units in the city of Paris. With regular police work done by regular police detectives. The actors are playing in a such realistic manner that they just could be real cops caught in their everyday work.The movie is sad, very sad and hard. I don't think you would apply to become a police officer after seeing it ...