Maigret (TV Series) Maigret voit double (2000) User Reviews

Must-see French-Czech-Belgian-Swiss TV

[orebaugh · 8/10 · 6 November 2005]

Maurice Tremblet falls dead in his bedroom, a small projectile wound in his chest. Commissaire Maigret arrives to investigate, taking a room in a hotel across the street from which the fatal shot may have been fired. He calls this "settling in others' nests." And he must consider: why would anyone want M. Tremblet, a thoroughly ordinary accountant, dead? Of course, we learn that M. Tremblet was hardly ordinary. And we learn it as the characters do, for no one, not even his family, knew him well.

If you get a chance to see this one, take it. Sharp dialog leavened with genuine wit and outstanding work from the supporting cast (especially the lovely Eleonore Gosset) make it a winner. Quite a treat sorting out the true clues from the red herrings. Hats off to director Luciani (his only Maigret film so far) and experienced adapter Granier-Deferre.

Why kill someone so anonymous?

[Tony-Holmes · 9/10 · 25 January 2024]

Saw this on the Talking Pictures channel (UK, old films and TV). They had previously shown the 1960s series (50+ episodes, BBC, B&W) featuring Rupert Davies, a generally acclaimed Maigret.

We've also seen the excellent 12 episodes (2 series) that ITV did (90s) with Michael Gambon as Maigret (terrific portrayal) and the less successful later efforts with Rowan Atkinson in the lead.

This Cremer version is of course French, with subtitles, but they are not too wordy, so fairly easy to follow. Also very French, lots of atmosphere, meaningful looks, thoughtful silences.

I see some reviews refer to how faithful this version is to the books, a ludicrous statement in one respect, as Lucas, his main assistant in all the books I've seen, has almost completely disappeared!

I haven't liked all the episodes so far of this Cremer version, but THIS one is pretty good, with Maigret having to puzzle out the life of a man who does very little, a boring job and life, and even his own family have grown to dislike him?

The other present reviews (Orebaugh and Whalen) have outlined the story, and Maigret gradually unearths a number of motives for murder, as he finds the victim's daughter knows a little more than she admits, and is everything really OK where he worked? Plus, would a non-gambler have bought a lottery ticket, or had he been doing some creative accounting at his workplace? As is usually the case, some lovely acting, especially from the victim's wife, his daughter, and that other woman (or is she?!).

"Nobodies don't get murdered . . ."

[garywhalen · 8/10 · 8 December 2023]

A man is shot while in his bedroom, and it appears the shooter was in a hotel room across the street. Why would someone shoot a nobody like Maurice? Here was a very boring man with wife and family living a simple life. Of course, Maigret will learn much about this "boring" man and find the motive and the killer.

This episode is based on George Simenon's short story "Death of a Nobody" which is included in the collection "Maigret's Christmas." The film deviates a bit from Simenon's story, but I can understand why. Simenon's short story is a bit weak-I hate saying that, but it is-with one important detail explained rather poorly at the end of the story. It certainly seems the scriptwriters thought so and decided to provide a more developed story line-they deviate in a substantive way in the film script vs. The original short story--and thus deliver a more reasonable motive for the killer.

A special treat is the relationship between Maigret's nephew Inspector Paul Lachenal and the victim's daughter Francine Tremblet. He flirts with her and spends time with her hoping to find out more about the victim and the relationship between her and her father while she flirts back. Or is she toying with him to keep him from finding out the truth? Watch this one and find out.