Inspector Bellamy (2009)
"Bellamy" (original title)

A well known Parisian inspector becomes involved in an investigation while on holiday.

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Odile Barski (scenario, adaptation and dialogue), Claude Chabrol (scenario, adaptation and dialogue)

Stars:

Gérard Depardieu, Clovis Cornillac, Jacques Gamblin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gérard Depardieu	...	Paul Bellamy
Clovis Cornillac	...	Jacques Lebas
Jacques Gamblin	...	Noël Gentil / Emile Leullet / Denis Leprince
Marie Bunel	...	Françoise Bellamy
Vahina Giocante	...	Nadia Sancho
Marie Matheron	...	Madame Leullet
Adrienne Pauly	...	Claire Bonheur
Yves Verhoeven	...	Alain
Bruno Abraham-Kremer	...	Bernard
Rodolphe Pauly	...	L'avocat
Maxence Aubenas	...	Gilles
Anne Maureau	...	La journaliste TV
Henri Cohen	...	Le Président du tribunal
Thierry Calas	...	Le médecin-légiste
Dominique Ratonnat	...	Le médecin

Storyline

As every year, chief inspector Paul Bellamy spends a few days with his wife Françoise in the family house in Nîmes. Jacques, Paul's stepbrother, turns up unawares, which is bad news since the fellow is an alcoholic good for nothing. Also annoying is this stranger at bay who asks Bellamy for protection. Farewell peaceful holiday!

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Plot Keywords:

court trial | tango dancing | prison cell | cliff | south of france | 

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Taglines:

The Final Film of Claude Chabrol, France's Master of Suspense

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

IFC Films [us] TFM Distribution [fr]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

25 February 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Inspector Bellamy

Filming Locations:

Montpellier, Hérault, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$20,635 (USA) (29 October 2010)

Gross:

$105,893 (USA) (17 December 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alicéléo, France 2 Cinéma, DD Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Paul Bellamy: People kill to get rid of something, but with most killers, they kill because they want to get rid of themselves.

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Connections

References The Night of the Hunter (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Les Copains d'abord"
(George Brassens)

User Reviews

worst Chabrol film

This is by far the worst Chabrol film I've watched; he is normally I director I admire but this film is dull, vapid, poorly edited and showcases all the worst stereotypes about French cinema. The characters are completely lacking in depth (and contrived oh-so-shocking revelations don't change this) and universally uninteresting; Depardieu in particular is very good at acting pedantic, but manages to convey precious little else. Actually, none of the characters are likable and most are unsympathetic without being interesting.

The central plot is about a crime that gets rapidly duller as the film progresses; from the start it's not particularly fascinating (because none of the characters involved is sympathetic or interesting in his own right, it fails to answer 'why should I care?'), but the central crime story becomes increasingly prosaic and occasionally ludicrous.

This film has far too many subplots, none of which are even remotely interesting and they drag on and on ('brevity is the soul of wit' applies here) and are only marginally relevant to the central plot. You keep hoping one of them develops into something interesting, but it never happens. It has the feel that Chabrol filmed lots of subplot footage in case it was useful and in the end just decided to shove it all into the final product.

Unless this film is somehow meant as a parody of the most pretentious French cinema or some other sort of in-joke, it is an astonishing failure by an otherwise very good director.