Tuesday 18 January 2022

CRIME IS HER GAME (LE CRIME LUI VA SI BIEN): MAUVAIS RÔLE (FRANCE 2)

[Favourite of the Month] Le crime lui va si bien, France 2's mystery/comedy series, returns with two new feature-length episodes: Mauvais rôle and Deux pour le prix d'un.

Based on an idea by producer/writer Jean-Pierre Alessandri, Le crime lui va si bien was created by Olga Vincent (Envers et contre tous, Disparus) and Stéphane Kaminka (Au-delà des apparences, Malaterra). It stars Claudia Tagbo as Gaby Molina, an intuitive and tenacious police captain who does odd jobs and rents guest rooms to keep the farm inherited from her grandparents. Though Claudia Tagbo is best known for stand-up comedy and her participation to TF1's entertainment programme Vendredi tout est permis, this versatile Franco-Ivorian actress and humorist played Lieutenant Martine Forest in RIS police scientifique (2006-2014) (1). The excellent Hélène Seuzaret (Le pont des oubliés, Das Boot) co-stars as Lieutenant Céline Richer, the by-the-book partner and tenant of Captain Molina.  
 
The great Bruno Lochet plays Gaby's informer Anton Vargas. Laurent Manzoni is very good as Commissaire Félix Fontan, the duo's boss. Julien Ratel is amazing as Darget, the lunar police officer. The TV film which gave birth to the series won the Grand Prix of the French-speaking TV movie 2019 at the Cognac Polar Festival Directed by Stéphane Kappes (La stagiaire, Tropiques criminels), the brilliant Mauvais rôle was penned by Olga Vincent with novelist and scriptwriter Mikaël Ollivier (Three Blind Mice) (2). Captain Gaby Molina moonlights as a consultant for a crime drama filmed in Vargas' car junkyard and starring his ex-husband, actor Antoine Lartigaud. Soon Gaby must go back to regular police work: she investigates with Céline on the murder of a young woman whose left thumb was cut. They interrogate the victim's sister and her brother-in-law who tell them she had gambling debts.
 
Things get complicated when Antoine appears to be the main suspect. Céline speaks German better than Fontan. Darget wears sunglasses and shows some surprising fields of expertise. Vargas thinks he's an actor. Mauvais rôle is fun, well-plotted (with a twist) and we learn more about Molina and Richer. There are chinchillas (seriously) and Claudia Tagbo reminds us that she was Oda Mae Brown in the musical adaptation of the movie Ghost on stage. Stéphane Debac (Crimes parfaits, Les Bracelets rouges) plays Antoine Lartigaud. Also with  Nathanaël Maïni (3) as Cédric, Rémi Bichet (Marc Vallard), Anne Suarez (Caïn) as Charlotte Vallard, Isaac Domingos (Matéo), etc. Produced by  Ramona Productions, Kam&Ka and France Télévisions. Co-produced by Be-Films and RTBF (Télévision belge) with the participation of RTS Radio Télévision suisse and TV5 Monde.
 
Produced by Olga Vincent & Jean-Pierre Alessandri, Samuel Kaminka & Stéphane Kaminka. Music by Xavier Berthelot (Joséphine, ange gardien). Cinematography by Sergio Dell'Amico. Editing by Bénédicte Gellé. Olivier Perrault is the director of the fabulous title sequence. Filmed with the support of Département de la Charente and Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 
Not yet shown by France 2.
 
(1) The French adaptation of RIS: Delitti imperfetti (2005-2009).
(2) With the contribution of Nathan Bauer
(3) An interesting actor: https://www.francaisaucambodge.org/post/le-portrait-du-mois-decembre-2021-nathanael-maini (In French).  
 
 
See also:
 

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