The Connection (La French), 2014.
Directed by Cédric Jimenez.
Starring Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche, Céline Sallette, and Benoît Magimel.
SYNOPSIS:
French police magistrate Pierre Michel wages an obsessive six-year battle to bring down Marseilles’ infamous “French Connection” drug ring.
A motorcycle weaves through the traffic where it connects with a car where the passengers are executed at point blank range. Meanwhile a police magistrate who is responsible for juveniles tries to convince a teenage female drug addict to go clean and tells his own story of how he was able to overcome his gambling problem. The two storylines become intertwined as the lawyer gets promoted to dismantle an infamous and ruthless drug network which has members of the police force, local and government officials on its payroll; the death of the young girl from an overdose ignites an obsession which will see him bend the rules in an effort to make that justice prevails.
As for the heroin dealers they are at the mercy of their American clients who essentially finance the whole organization; a violate conflict erupts as two members of the organization go to war against each other which leads to one of them ending up in jail. The biggest liabilities are the mistresses, wives and girlfriends of the criminals as they are huge drain on their financial resources. With the police magistrate prepared to be as ruthless of them and is able to raid and shut down one of secretive drug labs, the French Connection resorts to measures to ensure that it remains in business.
There is an epic scope to the slick production which does a remarkable job in capturing the look and spirit of the 1970s. For most people in North America, the familiarity of the subject deals with an American drug bust which was turned into acclaimed thriller with Gene Hackman (Mississippi Burning) and Roy Scheider (Jaws) titled The French Connection (1971); The Connection explores the French side of the story by intercutting between the criminals and law enforcement officers in pursuit of them. Personal lives are examined, in particularly of Pierre Michel who nearly destroys his marriage. The acting is fine though one gets the sense that the historical crime thriller is more style over substance.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★★/ Movie: ★★★
Originally published September 13, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
