On the basis of Le Petit Lieutenant, the producers of The Wire or The Shield would be wise to hire French director Xavier Beauvois to helm an episode. His film feels like a cross between a documentary and a pilot for a TV cop show. Avoiding flash, Beauvois and cinematographer Caroline Champetier adopt a raw, even deliberately drab naturalism that would probably translate well to the small screen. The title character, Antoine (Jalil Lespert), is a new graduate from the police academy. Living in Le Havre with his wife, he dreams of working in Paris. Eventually, he joins a squad investigating the murder of a homeless man.
If the basic plot of Le Petit Lieutenant could be a CSI episode, Beauvois' approach is far more original. He is more interested in character than blood and guts or even tracking down criminals. (Seventy minutes pass before the first bit of on-screen violence.) In some respects, even the plot is a red
herring. The film's real agenda concerns a workplace's shifting friendships and rivalries, especially the relationship between Antoine and a recovering alcoholic 'supercop' (Nathalie Baye). Le Petit Lieutenant is sly: it starts out like a solid, unspectacular B-movie and gradually shifts perspective from a young man's optimism to the point-of-view of a middle-aged woman who's seen more than her share of tragedy. The final scene, which focuses on Baye's eloquent face, is one of the most quietly moving moments you'll see this year. — Steve Erickson
