Le Crime Est Notre Affaire

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : Oct ‘08
Time : 109 minutes
Director : Pascal Thomas ; Writer : Francois Caviglioli, inspired by Agatha Christie
Starring : Catherine Frot, Andre Dussollier, Claude Rich, Chiara Mastroianni, Hippolyte Girardot, Annie Cordy

Take a slightly looney aunt, who chases butterflies professionally. A bored housewife, who yearns for excitement after her husband's retirement from the police force. A villa, which is packed with crazy characters, each weirder than another. And finally take a murder that may have happened or not, depending on who you believe.



The concept, of witnessing a murder on a train passing by, is an age-old one, in this case copied from Agatha Christie’s ‘4.50 to Paddington’. However, what makes this film refreshingly different is that it decides to take the ‘tension plus fun’ angle instead of just ‘tension / murder mystery’. And we have to thank the lead characters, Catherine Frot and Andre Dussollier, for most of the fun, as they show the younger generation how to be romantic and live life kingsize, even when you’re retired.

From Catherine’s exotic mixing of music and food, her sudden love for snowshoes, her reaction when she walks back to her home and realises its ‘filled’ with noisy nephews to Andre’s struggle with his kilt, his reaction when he realises what lay behind her love for snowshoes and his several romantic efforts, there are enough comic moments throughout the film.

And given the creepy nature of the villa, aptly named ‘House of Wolves’, with several stuffed and sculpted specimens dotting the landscape and also the crazy inhabitants, including the incredibly stingy and screechy owner, Claude Rich, there are enough tension filled moments for those interested in the mystery part of the story. Nice film, taking a familiar concept and twisting it nicely, with enough thrills and spills to make it work well for fans of both comedies as well as mysteries…