Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

JoaoPovoaMarinheiro First of all, during the last years France is proving to be one of the most interesting 'creators' of front-line quality crime and thriller films. We had successful movies such as 'De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté', '36 Quai des Orfèvres' or most recently 'L'ennemi public nº1' and how can we forget 'Ne le dis à personne'. The question is, what happened to this one? It has to be one of the most interesting french movies that I have ever seen and how come I've never heard of it in foreign lands (except France of course)? Not only you have here a genius and meticulous plot, with a final twist that simply blows one away, but also solid performances (Jean Dujardin is excellent as the tough Richard Malinowski) and good directing (Franck Mancuso is a pleasant surprise). It's a short, sharp and accurate crime flick with entertainment guaranteed. It hasn't car chases, gun shooting or explosions, but just mind tricks that fit in perfectly.This is one of those cases that if it had a different production, it would have make it BIG TIME. And that's a real shame because this little piece of french tape is a lesson of good film-making and the fact that it didn't get much of recognition and visibility left it forgotten.However, you, the reader, don't forget it and if you have the chance, just watch it because it is 75 minutes of sharp crime flick - 8/10.

benoitlelievre Contre-Enquete is the prime example of a movie that is not really well directed, but that is carried on by his actors. If you like your direction tight and extensive, this is not a movie for you.You seldom feel rushed into the action, the scenes are too short and everything happens in the same time, which makes it difficult to get attached to the characters. In its first twenty minutes, the movie out pours a lot of emotional scenes that comes out as being cheesy because...well the movie is just starting! Nobody really cares about the characters yet.But there is all the bad I have to say. The odyssey of a broken down father to find the true murderer of his daughter is a gripping tale that has Jean Dujardin and Laurent Lucas as their shining stars. Their play is subtle, tight and leaves the viewer in a total state of confusion towards the potential ending of the movie.It could have been a landslide due to its predictability and its sloppiness, but Dujardin and Lucas made this an overall rather enjoying experience.

marivaid The plot is somewhat simple - a policeman whose daughter was raped and murdered helps the man who is in jail for her murder to have his conviction overturned. (graeme-hayes, he is not "allowed to investigate",he's doing it on his own without his colleagues's approval)The movie itself was really good. It was nice to see Dujardin finally getting a role worthy of his talents. However, what really irked me were the similarities between this movie and the Patrick Dils case.For those who don't know, Patrick Dils was convicted of killing 2 boys when he was 16 years old, then his conviction was overturned 15 years later - and the fact that serial killer Francis Heaulmes was proved to have been in the area at the time and described the murder of the boys to the police several years before had a huge impact during his trial. Heaulmes,however,was never charged.There is no question that the movie, especially the part about the serial killer, was inspired by the Dils case. Same disease, same relationship with his mother... so it makes me wonder what was REALLY the point for the film makers ? Are they implying that Dils is in fact guilty and should still be in jail ? I happen to believe in Dils's innocence and that really left a bad taste in my mouth after watching this movie. Apart from that, it's possibly the best French movie of this genre that I've watched in the past few years. Certainly the best since Six Pack.

writers_reign One thing you can be sure of with Frank Mancuso is authenticity. An ex-cop himself, he co-wrote 36 Quai des Orfevres with another ex-cop, Olivier Marchal (who also directed) and based it on incidents in his own time on the force. This time around he has adapted an American novel by Robert Bloch but his movie is no worse for that. It's arguably more psychological thriller than pure policier but manages to retain its grip throughout. In a nutshell a cop's young daughter is killed and a suspect arrested, tried and imprisoned and this, as they say, is where the story really starts; with the prisoner - Monty Clift lookalike Laurent Lucas - initiating a correspondence from his cell with the father of the murdered girl, a correspondence he chooses to keep secret from his wife. Justice, albeit rough justice, prevails in the end but as always in life nobody really wins. Definitely worth seeing.