Alice Avril writes the broken hearts' column for regional paper La Voix du Nord and dreams to become a reporter. When Laurence refuses to share with her information about the murder she goes undercover at La Main tendue and gets a maid job.
« Alice Avril, reporter à La Voix du Nord. J'enquête sur le meurtre à La Main tendue.
- Ce sont les flics qui enquêtent. Les journalistes pissent de la copie.»
Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("Agatha Christie's little murders") is a French adaptation of Agatha Christie's stories as a period crime comedy-drama 90-minute series with two local sleuths instead of her detectives. Launched in 2009 on France 2 and initially set in the 1930's north of France, it starred Antoine Duléry as the epicurian and womanizing commissaire Larosière and Marius Colucci as his gay assistant inspecteur Lampion until 2012. The duo, whose cases caught between 4m and above 5m viewers, bowed out last autumn. Nevertheless, Les petits meurtres continues and last week Jeux de glaces introduced a new tandem in the 1950s: commissaire Swan Laurence performed by Samuel Labarthe (of the Comédie-Française) and reporter Alice Avril, played by Blandine Bellavoir (Maison close, Plus belle la vie).
« Le manque d'oxygène déteriore le cerveau mais encore faut-il en avoir un. Vous ne risquez absolument rien. »
Adapted from They Do It with Mirrors by Sylvie Simon, who created the two characters with Thierry Debroux, this episode is chiefly focused on the unlikely team up of the uber elegant, cynical cop with the tenacious female journo. Laurence is dressed like Cary Grant, talks like Gregory House or Sacha Guitry (« C'est le mariage qui m'ennuie. »), and drives a chic sports car (1) like Simon Templar. Samuel Labarthe steals Jeux de glaces with the best lines (« Vous avez peut-être un physique de boniche mais il faut du talent pour transformer une fouine en taupe. ») and his on-screen chemistry with Blandine Bellavoir is perfect. Although Avril should evolve from this kind of adult Nancy Drew to be as interesting as Lampion. At least she's more lucky than Marlène, the stereotypical scatterbrain blonde secretary played by Elodie Frenck in a full La Minute Blonde mode (2). Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie wins in comedy what it loses in subtlety.
The result is different from the Larosière/Lampion era but it remains very enjoyable. The sets look lavish and the locations, including the château de Pittefaux near Boulogne-sur-Mer, are beautiful. Both the main cast and the guest cast (Catherine Mouchet, Olivier Rabourdin, etc...) are excellent. Helmed by resident Petits meurtres director Eric Woreth, Jeux de glaces won a Pyrénées d’Or of the Best Series (tied with Lazy Company) at the Luchon's Festival of Television Creation. The music, as usual, is by film and TV composer Stéphane Moucha (Das Leben der Anderen). Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil's Escazal Films with the support of Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais, TV5 Monde and France Télévisions.
This friday France 2 airs Meurtre au champagne, another Laurence/Avril, adapted from Sparkling Cyanide.
(1) A Facel-Vega Facellia (http://www.automobile-sportive.com/guide/facelvega/facellia.php - In French).
(2) A 2004-2006 short sequence of a Canal Plus talkshow with Frédérique Bel as Dorothy Doll, the epitome of the dumb blonde stereotype.
In French:
http://www.france2.fr/serie-fiction/les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie- Ce sont les flics qui enquêtent. Les journalistes pissent de la copie.»
Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie ("Agatha Christie's little murders") is a French adaptation of Agatha Christie's stories as a period crime comedy-drama 90-minute series with two local sleuths instead of her detectives. Launched in 2009 on France 2 and initially set in the 1930's north of France, it starred Antoine Duléry as the epicurian and womanizing commissaire Larosière and Marius Colucci as his gay assistant inspecteur Lampion until 2012. The duo, whose cases caught between 4m and above 5m viewers, bowed out last autumn. Nevertheless, Les petits meurtres continues and last week Jeux de glaces introduced a new tandem in the 1950s: commissaire Swan Laurence performed by Samuel Labarthe (of the Comédie-Française) and reporter Alice Avril, played by Blandine Bellavoir (Maison close, Plus belle la vie).
« Le manque d'oxygène déteriore le cerveau mais encore faut-il en avoir un. Vous ne risquez absolument rien. »
Adapted from They Do It with Mirrors by Sylvie Simon, who created the two characters with Thierry Debroux, this episode is chiefly focused on the unlikely team up of the uber elegant, cynical cop with the tenacious female journo. Laurence is dressed like Cary Grant, talks like Gregory House or Sacha Guitry (« C'est le mariage qui m'ennuie. »), and drives a chic sports car (1) like Simon Templar. Samuel Labarthe steals Jeux de glaces with the best lines (« Vous avez peut-être un physique de boniche mais il faut du talent pour transformer une fouine en taupe. ») and his on-screen chemistry with Blandine Bellavoir is perfect. Although Avril should evolve from this kind of adult Nancy Drew to be as interesting as Lampion. At least she's more lucky than Marlène, the stereotypical scatterbrain blonde secretary played by Elodie Frenck in a full La Minute Blonde mode (2). Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie wins in comedy what it loses in subtlety.
The result is different from the Larosière/Lampion era but it remains very enjoyable. The sets look lavish and the locations, including the château de Pittefaux near Boulogne-sur-Mer, are beautiful. Both the main cast and the guest cast (Catherine Mouchet, Olivier Rabourdin, etc...) are excellent. Helmed by resident Petits meurtres director Eric Woreth, Jeux de glaces won a Pyrénées d’Or of the Best Series (tied with Lazy Company) at the Luchon's Festival of Television Creation. The music, as usual, is by film and TV composer Stéphane Moucha (Das Leben der Anderen). Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie is produced by Sophie Révil's Escazal Films with the support of Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais, TV5 Monde and France Télévisions.
This friday France 2 airs Meurtre au champagne, another Laurence/Avril, adapted from Sparkling Cyanide.
(1) A Facel-Vega Facellia (http://www.automobile-sportive.com/guide/facelvega/facellia.php - In French).
(2) A 2004-2006 short sequence of a Canal Plus talkshow with Frédérique Bel as Dorothy Doll, the epitome of the dumb blonde stereotype.
In French:
http://www.france2.fr/serie-fiction/les-petits-meurtres-d-agatha-christie/interview-de-sylvie-simon-creatrice-des-personnages-et-co
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/Locales/Boulogne_sur_Mer/actualite/Secteur_Boulogne_sur_Mer/2012/05/30/article_un-roman-d-agatha-christie-adapte-pour-f.shtml
See also:
http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2012/09/les-petits-meurtres-dagatha-christie.html
