Inspector Bellamy

INSPECTOR BELLAMY is an odd little treasure. The last film of French New Wave director Claude Chabrol, the film considers a fat, likeable inspector on vacation named Paul Bellamy (Gerard Depardieu). On vacation, Paul doesn't really know what to do with himself. His worthless brother is coming into town, but to occupy his time, Paul meanders around investigating a case with a man who may or may not have killed someone, and may or may not be who he says he is. This plot is pretty fascinating. It's a labyrinth of information and oddity which seems to characteristic of thrillers, but here is played out as dryly as Paul's meandering investigation of the matter. It's almost as if there's a knowledge of the reality of the crime(s), as if there are greater truths outside of the fact that what happened in the case happened. It doesn't matter. What does matter is Paul's meandering, his obsession with his wife and their supposed happiness, and the uncomfortableness that Paul's brother brings to the situation. This could easily be called a slow film, but it is, in truth, an immersive one, a stylish one, a passionate one. There's real tension in Chabrol's filmmaking, and more importantly a dignity to each of his characters as if their screen time was essential. INSPECTOR BELLAMY is a very good film. It's greatness is never achieved perhaps in its conviction to confuse its audience with what is important, but perhaps that's the point that I didn't grasp (or at least, don't embrace).
Inspector Bellamy: ★★★1/2