MisterWhiplash Inspector Bellamy is on vacation. Why shouldn't he be? He's earned it, being on the force for so many years. He spends his time resting and doing odd things around the house - that is, trying to distract himself from an odd presence in a thin man who stalks his house and steps on his flowers. For shame! Paul Bellamy calls up this man who stopped by to speak to him and leaves a stern message. This man calls up Bellamy at midnight- such an odd hour - to meet with him. This man, a guy with big, nervous and possibly frightened eyes, names himself Emile Leullet, and he thinks he may have killed someone. Thinks being the operative word as he's not quite sure. Bellamy, not having a lot better to do, takes on the case informally, interviewing his girlfriend, and other people like a dance instructor who might know what's going on.As it turns out Leullet is not just one guy, he's two, or three. Claude Chabrol does a playful Hitchcock trick (Hitchcock and Chabrol, no way!) where Leulett is played by the same actor, Jacques Gamblin, and also appears as Noel Gentil, a businessman, and a homeless guy, who may be the one that Leulett killed. Whether he did or didn't is a guessing game Chabrol toys with and curiously keeps his main character equally engaged and annoyed by. Would he rather focus on this case while on holiday when his (to him and maybe to us) sexy wife is at home? But then again, what about his brother, Francoise?The brother part of the story, or who might be a step-brother, is what adds the interesting dimension to Inspector Bellamy. With just the crime-plot in the story it might just be a fun but diverting and inconsequential little thriller that is so much a slow-burner that Andy Warhol might have filmed the candle. But it's the introduction, relatively early on in the story, of this brother that suddenly makes the film matter more than it did before. Or, rather, it becomes a more interesting film the more one thinks about the duality of the situation. Bellamy is caught in the middle of two men who are just there: his brother Francoise, a louse and a drunk and usually a pretty miserable guy who is 'in-between' jobs and is amusing 20% of the time and the other 80 percent Paul can't help but want to smash his face in. And then there's Leulett, or Noel or Denis Leprince or whoever he is. Did he kill this person? Does it matter? Maybe Paul, as he even notes, has a liking for murderers, or just their style.Chabrol is in no rush with his story, which takes some detours here and there with dinner talk and trips to the hardware store and conversations with a female employee who is young enough to be Paul's daughter. This is just fine if you can get into the rhythm he's telling. For some (like a gentleman sitting next to me in the theater and insane to me due to the $13 ticket price) it might be sleep-inducing. But Chabrol does have more on his mind here than the usual police procedural or provincial murder mystery with twists in the story and the 'show-don't-tell' aspects where we see Leulett in "action". Those scenes, and seeing Depardieu in this role, is fun. It's when we get this personal dimension, of this brother who for all rights should be like a bad case of fleas and yet has some kind of sympathy to him, that the film takes on another light.Chabrol is neither over the top nor too subtle. Many scenes are presented in a straightforward dramatic style- probably just one shot in the bedroom for the confrontation- and in the resolution it's kind of peaceful. Again, this duality for Paul, of a man in his life who is very frank and dangerous in his honesty, and the other who is a total fake and possibly proud of it (though he does snap back to reality when he hears of his girlfriend sleeping with another Inspector!), is what counts. I liked seeing how Depardieu made his character smarter than others around him, but humble and with some humility to him. He's not a Sherlock Holmes, he's just a guy trying to put together a book-shelf and have some sex with his wife, what's wrong with that. That the actor playing his brother as well (I forget his name at the moment) is as good, if two-dimensional, in his role brings out the best out of the film's star.This was the director's 50th film, and it feels every bit like a Chabrol film, all the way down to its sad climax (and what a wonderful quote to end a movie, and unintentionally a career: "... there is always another story, there is more than meets the eye."), and his very reasonable and/or crazy cast of characters. It's a story without frills, as one would hope an old man would make, though perhaps a bit too long in some spots (there was a moment I thought the story would naturally end, and it didn't, though it ended up in a special place), and the camera and editing are loose and relaxed. This doesn't mean Inspector Bellamy is meant to be too slow, or not- involve its viewers. It's the quiet work of a master confident completely in what he's doing, be it a flash to a dance scene drowning in darkness and slivers of light, or having fun with little surprises. One such one, as a final note, is when the Leullet character is on trial, and his attorney breaks out into song (he's the only one, no music, just his voice) to explain his defense. I've never seen that in a movie. Glad there's one more curve-ball to throw, and a hilarious one at that.

Charlot47 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 lieWhat 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.

gradyharp Claude Chabrol (24 June 1930 - 12 September 2010) was one of the French mainstream New Wave film directors, celebrated for his suspense thrillers. BELLAMY is his last film and as such will probably remain one of his more fascinating. he was able to take what appeared on the surface to be rather mundane characters and story threads and twist them and turn them into fascinating tales. This trait is very evident in the mesmerizing, seemingly off the cuff film BELLAMY which holds our attention in a friendly conversational kind of way and then turns the tables at the end, leaving the viewer with the question 'why didn't I see that coming?' Famous Parisian Inspector Paul Bellamy (Gérard Depardieu) and his wife Françoise (Marie Bunel) are enjoying their vacation in Françoise's childhood home in Nîmes, France when they notice a stalker. The stalker calls Bellamy to meet him: Noël Gentil (Jacques Gambin) confesses a murder he has committed and for some reason captures the attention of Bellamy. The 'murder' is an insurance scheme in which Noël staged his own death using a proxy in order to get his wife's life insurance money allowing him to run away with his girlfriend Nadia Sancho (Vahina Giocante). 'Noël Gentil' is actually Emile Leullet married to Madame Leullet (Adrienne Pauly) but after the staged car-over-the-cliff accident, a car supposedly containing a street person Denis Leprince - also played by Gambin, the scam is squelched by the insurance company's investigation. Bellamy covers every lead into this strange situation and it ends with a surprise death that alters the entire scam. Meanwhile Bellamy's restless and resentful brother Jacques (Clovis Cornillac), an ex-con who still manages to steal from friends and puts the blame on his brother, visits Bellamy and his wife, and causes disruptions in their personal life as well as bringing Bellamy to a point of facing secrets about his childhood he has hidden from the world, secrets about his brother that are resolved in a very bizarre manner. All of these facts are ingredients for a thriller of a movie, but Chabrol's technique is to treat the harsh realities of the story as mere chatty conversations. All is not as it seems and behind every thread of this episodically related story are other stories that need the viewer's concentration to resolve. The cast is strong and the jewel of the film is the performance by Marie Bunel as the loving, affectionate, older wife. She glows. It is sad that Claude Chabrol is gone, but his fine movies are a legacy that makes him immortal. Grady Harp

MARIO GAUCI Having taken an unplanned breather from my ongoing Chabrol marathon, I ended up missing out on the very birthday I was celebrating! Anyway, I promptly reprised the schedule via his most recent offering – which, though it seems to have slipped pretty much under everybody's radar, emerges a decidedly solid effort.Amazingly, the director and the film's leading man – Gerard Depardieu, one of France's top stars for the last 35 years – had never worked together and, while the result does not particularly tax either of their talents, the thoroughly professional (but, at the same time, relaxed) contribution of both here attests to their longevity. Incidentally, I last watched this actor not too long ago in similar (albeit period) guise in DARK PORTALS: THE CHRONICLES OF VIDOCQ (2001), where the exploits of that real-life detective had received distinctly fanciful treatment.In fact, here Depardieu (looking incredibly puffy if still charismatic) is an eminent Police Inspector on vacation who is approached by a strange man confessing his responsibility in the demise of another whose charred body was discovered on a nearby beach in the film's opening scene. As the titular figure burrows into the case, he realizes not only that the identity of both killer and victim were fake but also that they are one and the same! Having become involved with a much younger woman, the man had intended disappearing (and eventually change facial features, which he does!) to throw his wife off the scent. However, the patsy selected for this ruse proves to be a tramp with a death-wish – so that it turns out the would-be killer is actually innocent of his own admitted crime!!The situation, then, is resolved in a most surprising trial sequence – with the Prosecuting Attorney assuming, at Depardieu's instigation, the role of Defense Counsel as well and providing his definitive statement in song! To complicate matters for Bellamy even further, his ne'er-do-well half-brother – with whom he shares a love/hate relationship – comes to visit and, at the end, perishes in much the same mysterious way as the subject of his latest investigation!As can be surmised from my comments, the film is essentially a lightweight, old-fashioned affair (barring a few swift transitions in the modern manner) but polished and entertaining enough to reap considerable rewards for movie connoisseurs of most persuasions.