Polisse, 2011.
Directed by Maïwenn.
Starring Karin Viard, Joey Starr, Marina Foïs, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Maïwenn, Emmanuelle Bercot and Frédéric Pierrot.
SYNOPSIS:
A photographer is assigned to document the operations of the police officers of the Child Protection Unit and gets an insight into their daily grind as they attempt to balance their private lives with the harsh reality they confront every day.
Polisse is a rare film which is both something new and interesting in its subject matter yet is never engaging due to the plot or lack thereof.
On the plus side, Polisse shows us the crimes and investigations of a Child Protection Unit in a major city (Paris), a side of law enforcement we rarely see on screen and because of this the film begins on a high note. The camera work is deliberately documentary-like and the film is deliberately ugly and unglamorous just like the world of child abuse crimes would be; add to this a bunch of unglamorous stars and characters which talk candidly about the crimes they are investigating and Polisse has all the ingredients of a great police drama.
However, on the negative side, Polisse quickly become tedious as a conveyer belt of children roll in to tell their stories and the film repeatedly hits you over the head with case after case. The lives of the police officers soon become akin to a made-for-TV film and the acting (or rather shouting matches) becomes tiresome, with very little to add to the characters’ developments. Polisse misses a trick by being over long with nothing to add after the initial ‘shock factor’.
Police films about uncomfortable subject matter make a refreshing change when we’re surrounded by the usual boring, carbon-copy cops ‘n’ robbers material, but if they’re not gripping or engaging then what’s the difference?
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Rohan Morbey – follow me on Twitter.
Originally published October 29, 2012. Updated April 11, 2018.
