Le parfum de la dame en noir

maybe I expected too much from the adorable Mystère De la Chambre Jaune sequel. The dull titles unlike the rejoicing Caro&Jeunet titles of the Rouletabille saga first episode foreshadow the major flaw of the picture: an overall disenchantment spreading to the screenplay and the actors. Gaston Leroux novels whose story lines are typically slowly-told and far-fetched must be hard to adapt yet they matched director Bruno Podalydès universe so far. However the blatantly clumsy dialogs create an uneasiness between the actors who miscommunicate with one another. And that's a sheer pity for the undreamed-of cast gathers not only the jolly almost-Pierre-Brasseur-like Bruno Podalydès and his skinnier and witty younger brother Denis but also a myriad of picturesque parts that goes from Claude Rich cameo to the imposing Oliver Gourmet performance. Indeed the breath-taking location shots invite the spectator to a stay in the wild and craggy island of Port Cros. Nevertheless I couldn't merge in the picture at all just like the touching, melancholic and mysterious Stangerson Professor embodied by the faultless Michael Lonsdale who sits on a chair facing the azure sea a palette in his hand wondering what he's longing to paint.