Maigret Sets a Trap (2016)

Chief Inspector Jules Maigret hunts for a serial killer.

Director:

Ashley Pearce

Writers:

Stewart Harcourt (screenplay), Georges Simenon (novel)

Stars:

Rowan Atkinson, Leo Staar, Shaun Dingwall

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rowan Atkinson	...	Chief Inspector Jules Maigret
Leo Staar	...	Inspector LaPointe
Shaun Dingwall	...	Inspector Janvier
Alexander Campbell	...	Dennis Lecoin
Beth Cooke	...	Georgette Lecoin
Zsófia Rea	...	Nicole Lecoin
Colin Mace	...	Inspector Lognon
Hugh Simon	...	Dr. Paul
Leo Hatton	...	Michelle
Ian Bartholomew	...	The Baron
Katie Lyons	...	Madame Maguy
Jack Johns	...	Rougin
Matt Devere	...	Police Inspector
Aidan McArdle	...	Judge Comeliau
Rufus Wright	...	Minister Morel

Storyline

Over a five month period in 1955 four women are stabbed to death in Montmartre after dark, a prostitute and a midwife among them - women with nothing in common beyond being brunette. Justice minister Morel leans on chief Inspector Maigret to catch the murderer and Maigret sets a trap, using policewoman Marthe Jusserard as a decoy. She survives an attack, sartorial evidence leading to married mother's boy Marcel Moncin, whom Maigret arrests. However whilst Moncin is in custody there is a further murder and Maigret looks to Moncin's family to help solve the murders.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitute | brunette | murder of a prostitute | policewoman decoy | knife | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK Hungary

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 2016 (UK)

Also Known As:

Maigret Sets a Trap

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fragile Films, Pioneer Stillking Films, Ealing Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the most-adapted Simenon stories; it was also adapted as the penultimate episode of Season 3 of the BBC's "Maigret" series.

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Goofs

The story is supposedly set in 1955 but one of the street scenes has a black Simca Aronde P60 going by. This model was not released until October 1958.

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Connections

Version of Inspector Maigret (1958)

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Soundtracks

Maigret Sets A Trap
by Samuel Sim

User Reviews

Mildly Entertaining Thriller

Watching another version of Maigret inevitably prompts comparison between Rowan Atkinson's interpretation of the role and that of previous actors: Rupert Davies and Michael Gambon on television, Maurice Denham and Nicholas le Prevost on radio. While lacking the physical and vocal presence of all of these actors, Atkinson brings a quiet dignity to the inspector's personality; a police officer remaining unflappable even in the face of adversity, such as the prospect of being removed from the case due to an inability to obtain quick results.

The plot of MAIGRET SETS A TRIP is less of a whodunit and more of a whydunit. We know quite early on in the episode who the murderer is; what matters is to find out precisely why they should have decided to kill innocent women. When Fiona Shaw appears as the suspect's mother, in a highly florid characterization full of tragic expressions and melodramatic gesture (inviting a Freudian interpretation of her relationship to her son), we can understand the victim's behavior.

Stewart Harcourt's script contains some clunky dialogue (one particular nugget occurs when Maigret says "take care" to a group of plain- clothes female police officers who are about to go on the streets of Montmartre, thereby putting themselves in danger of being attacked by the murderer). Yet Simeonon's source-text is so astutely structured that it emerges intact, despite the screenplay's best efforts to ruin it. We sympathize with Maigret as he patiently fits the evidence together, asking all the right questions and coming to conclusions as a result.

Filmed mostly in Budapest, standing in for Fifties Paris, apart from some location shots in Monmartre, Ashley Pearce's production reinforces familiar stereotypes about the French capital as a place for lovers, or citizens prepared to spend their days sitting outside in cafés watching the world go by. The period atmosphere is meticulously recreated, although it seems just a little too chocolate-box like on occasions.

This episode ends with a shot of Maigret walking away from camera along a tree-lined road (the Jardin des Tuilieries, perhaps?), thereby reinforcing the familiar tele-stereotype of the detective forced to live a solitary life in his efforts to solve crimes. This version of MAIGRET might have its faults, but it is sufficiently watchable to encourage us to watch further episodes.