BEYOND THE GRAVE - A NEW ADAMSBERG'S CASE/SUR LA DALLE (FRANCE 2, 2024)

Commissaire Adamsberg is back on pubcaster France 2 after a five-year break to investigate in an uneven 2 x 90-minute TV movie.

 

Sur la dalle will be shown by the channel on October 21 and October 28, 2024.     

Created by best-selling French crime writer Fred Vargas (nom de plume of Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau), the contemplative and melancolic Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is the main character of several books published between 1991 and 2023. This unorthodox detective is usually surrounded by a colourful team comprised of the erudite Commandant Adrien Danglard, computer expert Lieutenant Froissy, Lieutenant Voisenet (an amateur ichthyologist), Lieutenant Louis Veyrenc, Brigadier Estalère, Mordent, Mercadet, Noël and the colossal "polyvalent goddess" of the brigade criminelle: Lieutenant Violette Retancourt.

Pars vite et reviens tard (Have Mercy on Us All, 2001), the third Commissaire Adamsberg mystery, became a Régis Wargnier feature film in 2006 with José Garcia as the commissaire. In 2008, director and producer Josée Dayan (Les rois maudits, Les misérables, Le comte de Monte Cristo) launched her Collection Fred Vargas for France 2 with Sous les vents de Neptune. Author, scriptwriter and director Emmanuel Carrère penned this 2 x 90-minute adaptation of the fourth Adamsberg novel (Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand, 2004) starring Jean-Hughes Anglade (Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg), Jacques Spiesser (Magellan) as Danglard, Hélène Fillières (Camille Forestier), Myriam Boyer (Clémentine), Jeanne Moreau, Corinne Masiero (Retancourt), etc.

Sous les vents de Neptune was followed by L'homme aux cercles bleus (The Chalk Circle Man, Adamsberg #1) and L'homme à l'envers (Seeking Whom He May Devour, Adamsberg #2) in 2009 and Un lieu incertain (An Uncertain Place, Adamsberg #6) in 2010, three 90-minute made-for-TV movies. Nine years later, Jean-Hughes Anglade returned as Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg in Quand sort la recluse (1), a 2 x 90-minute television film helmed by Josée Dayan and written by Emmanuel Carrère. Published in France during Spring 2023, Sur la dalle is the tenth Adamsberg book by Fred Vargas. Filmed between February and March 2024 under the direction of Josée Dayan, the adaptation was written once again by Emmanuel Carrère. Except that this time the character is portrayed by Yvan Attal (Munich, Anthony Zimmer).

Adamsberg receives a text message from Commissaire Franck Mathieu, a colleague from Brittany whom he worked with two years ago. Mathieu tells him that Gaël, a gamekeeper,  has been murdered. Despite the objections of Retancourt, Jean-Baptiste cannot resist going to the Breton village of Louviec to learn more. Danglard, Froissy and newcomer Sabine Natoutruc join Adamsberg on the case. The main suspect is a descendant and lookalike of François-René de Chateaubriand paid to promote the famous author's Château de Combourg. Soon another murder is committed and the mystery grows in an investigation involving a limping ghost, a hunchback, fleas, shadows, dead cats and a serial killer.

The choice of Yvan Attal as the new Adamsberg is rather smart. Danglard is now played by Louis-Do de Lenquesaing and Sylvie Testud returns as Froissy. Since Un lieu incertain, Corinne Masiero became the star of the hit crime drama Capitaine Marleau (2015), produced and directed by Josée Dayan. The actress leaves Sur la dalle after 30 minutes under the pretext that Retancourt doesn't like Chateaubriand. Virginie Ledoyen plays Sabine, her de facto substitute though Violette is irreplacable. The first part of Sur la dalle drowns itself in some of the dialogues. Thankfully things get better with the second part of this "new Adamsberg's case". Set in a timeless Brittany, Sur la dalle has the feel of a Midsomer Murders episode.

Comedian and actor Olivier De Benoist is Commissaire Mathieu. The great character actor Philippe du Janerand (Nikita) plays Maël. Also with Eric Caravaca (Robic), Micha Lescot (Josselin), Vincent Deniard (Johan), François Bureloup (Uranus), Riwan Belkacemi (Louis), Claire Nebout (Marie Serpentin), etc. No La Boule, the  big cat who lives on the photocopier in Adamsberg's brigade, but a hedgehog (credited as Le hérisson) "played" by... Pompon. Co-produced by Passionfilms and Gaspard & Co with France Télévisions and the participation of TV5 Monde. Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac. The superb music was composed by Reno Isaac. Cinematography by Ramin Poursaid. Editing by Yves Langlois, assisted by Florence Leconte. Distributed by France tv Distribution.

(1) Quand sort la recluse is based on the ninth Adamsberg mystery (This Poison Will Remain, 2017).

https://www.francetvpro.fr/contenu-de-presse/68550446
https://www.chateau-combourg.com

See also: 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/04/collection-fred-vargas-quand-sort-la.html

CAPTAIN MARLEAU (CAPITAINE MARLEAU): VEUVES MAIS PAS TROP (FRANCE 3)

France's favourite gendarme meets the mortician.

No matter that Capitaine Marleau was once a brilliant detective drama created by Série Noire author and crime fiction expert scriptwriter Elsa Marpeau for director/producer Josée Dayan. What the fans enjoy most is neither the plots nor the guest actors (even David Suchet or Isabelle Adjani). It's when Corinne Masiero, its star, delivers Marleau's one-liners and social commentaries.

With 7 to 8 million viewers, the series can afford everything. Like shoehorning the capitaine in an aborted film project of Dayan (Double Jeu) or in a novel of Marc Eisenchteter, the story editor of Capitaine Marleau since 2018 (Ne plus mourir, jamais). Corinne Masiero can afford a lot too. The actress is reputed to ad lib, to the point that she's also credited with the writers: "Avec la complicité de Corinne Masiero". Not sure that the scribes asked for it.

Capitaine Marleau has become a one-woman show full of easy jokes, meta-references, free antics and the political views of Corinne Masiero. They are well-known in France as she's very vocal about them. Pace è Salute, the irritating previous episode, caught almost 7 million viewers (31.4%!) so you'd think the forces behind France's most watched drama don't mind that it turned into stand-up comedy. Well, for Veuves mais pas trop it looks that they were a tad worried.

An anonymous tip brings Captain Marleau in the funeral parlor of Stanislas Turner after the disappearance of a dead body and an accusation of murder. The quite confused plot is less interesting than a curious case of countless cut clues. The editing seems to be used to restrict the effects of Corinne Masiero's freewheeling and in Veuves mais pas trop it shows right from the start. Anyway a couple of scenes cannot be saved.

Turner is played by Édouard Baer with a bit of Otis, his character in Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra. Bruno Lochet (Le crime lui va si bien) plays Adjudant Michel Pichon. He's the second member of the Deschiens theater company to be a deputy of Marleau after Philippe Duquesne in Pace è Salute. Belgian actor and French television legend Jean-Claude Drouot makes a welcome return as the Falstaffian pathologist Leopold Salaun. 

With Anne Brochet (Martine Lemaître), Isabelle Candelier (Juliette Massoni), Maïra Schmitt (Ariane Turner), Nicolas Robin (Melchior Turner), Valentine Cadic (Virginie Lemaître), Olivier Broche (Dr. Morel), Noémie Lenoir (Marguerite Vitali), etc. Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac. Co-produced by Passionfilms and Bel Ombre Films with France Télévisions, Pictanovo and the support of Région Hauts-de-France.

With the participation of RTS - Radio Télévision Suisse and R.T.B.F. (Télévision belge). Olivier Schmitt is the production manager. Cinematography by Stefan Ivanov. Editing by Yves Langlois. Music composed by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn. Capitaine Marleau is available in the U.S. on VOD service MHZ Choice under the title Captain Marleau. Written by Sylvain Saada with Corinne Masiero. Directed by Josée Dayan.

Veuves mais pas trop will premiere on France 3 on February 25th.

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/02/captain-marleau-capitaine-marleau-pace.html (Pace è Salute)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/10/captain-marleau-capitaine-marleau.html (Quelques maux d'amour)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/10/capitaine-marleau-grand-huit-france-3.html (Grand Huit)

CAPTAIN MARLEAU (CAPITAINE MARLEAU): PACE È SALUTE (FRANCE 3)

Capitaine Marleau is France's favourite gendarme and she knows it.

The bottom line: L'Enquête corse.

Captain Marleau is in a Corsican forest when she's accidentally wounded by a hunter. She's brought to the home of a retired GP, Dr. Paul Crivelli. There's a smell of gas in the house and Crivelli is found dead near his wife Marie, who's unconscious. Marleau interrogates Lesia Crivelli, their daughter, who left Paris where she was a surgeon to become the successor to her father. Lesia's ex-fiancé, who was meant to succeed to Paul, didn't take her return well. A man who beat his wife wants to take revenge on Lesia Crivelli because of her intervention. 

What the fans of Capitaine Marleau like most is neither the plots nor the guest actors (even David Suchet or Isabelle Adjani). It's when Corinne Masiero, its star, delivers Marleau's one-liners and social commentaries. With almost 8 million viewers, the series can afford everything. The actress is reputed to ad lib, to the point that she's also credited with the writers. Pace è Salute is heavy on easy jokes, meta-references and Corinne Masiero's views (well-known in France). Even the postcard shots of the beautiful Corsica cannot prevent the feeling that those 90 minutes last three hours (including 30 minutes of clichés).

With Mélanie Doutey (Lesia Crivelli), Philippe Duquesne (Major Fortin), Catherine Rouvel (Marie Crivelli), Brigitte Sy (Victoire Bracconi), Maria Ducceschi (Restitude Corsa), Laurent Capelluto (Pierre Russo), Cédric Appietto (Ange Castola), Daniel Martin (Dr. Luc Martinez), Jean-Pierre Bouvier (Jacques Ardouin), Didier Landucci (Hubert Ricciardi), Jean-Marc Michelangeli (Henri Ricciardi), etc. Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac. Co-produced by Passionfilms and Gaspard & Co with France Télévisions and the support of Collectivité de Corse.

With the participation of RTS - Radio Télévision Suisse and R.T.B.F. (Télévision belge). Jean-Christophe Cardineau is the production manager. Cinematography by Stefan Ivanov. Editing by Yves Langlois. Music composed by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn. Marc Eisenchteter is the story editor. Capitaine Marleau is available in the U.S. on VOD service MHZ Choice under the title Captain Marleau. Series created by Elsa Marpeau. Written by Marc-Antoine Laurent and Jean-Marc Taba with Corinne Masiero. Directed by Josée Dayan.

Pace è Salute will premiere on France 3 on February 18th.

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/10/captain-marleau-capitaine-marleau.html (Quelques maux d'amour)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/10/capitaine-marleau-grand-huit-france-3.html (Grand Huit)

CAPTAIN MARLEAU (CAPITAINE MARLEAU): QUELQUES MAUX D'AMOUR (FRANCE 3)

Captain Marleau meets the singer.

The bottom line: Two for the show.

Quelques maux d'amour is the 17th episode of Capitaine Marleau, the ratings juggernaut produced and helmed by Josée Dayan for France 3. In spite of some automatisms, a handful of labored or recycled jokes, a ridiculous set (the gendarmerie) and many postcard shots, it brings back the crime drama to an acceptable shape after the terrible Grand Huit.

Frédéric Lanteri, the owner of a music studio, is found murdered after his daughter's wedding. Capitaine Marleau meets the closest friend of the Lanteri family: Daniel Rivière, a singer whose glory days are behind him and the idol of Marleau's youth. The sensitive performance of Kad Merad (Baron Noir) as the washed-up artist and his chemistry with Corinne Masiero/Marleau not wearing a cape (1) are the highlights of Quelques maux d'amour (the title sounds more Michel Bussi than Michel Berger).

With guest appearances of musician and TV personality André Manoukian (as Frédéric) and the French band Blankass. Yamée Couture (Charlie Lanteri) is the daughter of singer Charlélie Couture. Also starring Nathalie Boutefeu (Annie Lanteri), India Hair (Chloé), Ilian Bergala (Jérémie), Roman Kané (Bastien Lanteri), Ymanol Perset (Greg) Stéphane Boucher (Totoche), etc. Written by Alexis Miansarow and Robin Barataud (Candice Renoir) with Corinne Masiero.

Co-produced by Passionfilms and Gaspard & Co with France Télévisions and the support of Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine. With the participation of RTS - Radio Télévision Suisse and R.T.B.F. (Télévision belge). Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac. Jean-Christophe Cardineau is the production manager. Cinematography by Stefan Ivanov. Editing by Yves Langlois. Music composed by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn.

Songs performed by Kad Merad. Lyrics of S'aimer, Ta mémoire and L'impossible adieu by Jean-Jacques Thibaud (Music by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn). Marc Eisenchteter is the story editor. Capitaine Marleau is available in the U.S. on VOD service MHZ Choice under the title Captain Marleau. Series created by Elsa Marpeau. Quelques maux d'amour will premiere on France 3 on October 29.

(1) See https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/10/capitaine-marleau-grand-huit-france-3.html 

CAPTAIN MARLEAU (CAPITAINE MARLEAU): GRAND HUIT (FRANCE 3)

Capitaine Marleau (France's favourite gendarme) investigates in a fun park. Maybe next time she'll go to the zoo or she'll visit a museum.

The bottom line: « No capes! » (Edna Mode)

Launched in 2015 on France 3, Capitaine Marleau stars Corinne Masiero as an offbeat gendarme with no first name. Produced and helmed by Josée Dayan (Les rois maudits, Les misérables, Le comte de Monte Cristo), the crime drama gradually became a ratings juggernaut and a pop culture phenomenon. Gaullic viewers know Marleau's chapka, her parka and her Range Rover Classic 1988 as much as Columbo's raincoat and his Peugeot 403. The lieutenant is an acknowledged influence of the character. In april, Capitaine Marleau hit another rating record with 7.70 million viewers (32.8%!)

The French public loves Corinne Masiero too. When she and Josée Dayan took a break from the series to shoot Quand sort la recluse, a 2X90-minute film of France 2's Collection Fred Vargas, 4.64 million viewers (20.65%) followed her for Part 1 (1). TF1 certainly hoped to cash in on the popularity of the actress with Colombine, where she starred in a very similar role except it was a nun in Africa! 5.2 million viewers (23.2%) watched this TV movie last month. Meanwhile, copycats of Capitaine Marleau regularly pop up on France 3, in Crimes parfaits or Alexandra Ehle (from Marleau's creator Elsa Marpeau).

Written by Pierre Delorme and Robin Barataud (Candice Renoir) with Corinne Masiero, Grand Huit will premiere in France on October 22. Alban Bouchard, who works in an amusement park called Spoutnik Park, is murdered in his "Spoutnik man" costume. Captain Marleau meets the owners, Lucie (Marina Hands) and Antoine Pavilla (Rapper and actor Joey Starr). The day before his death, Alban and his son Jordy had an argument. Major Boyer, of the gendarmerie, reluctantly cooperates with Marleau. 17 years ago, Lucie's father died on the roller coaster and the gendarmes ruled it a suicide. Marleau interrogates Henri, the handyman, and Lucie's brother Bertrand.

What the fans of Capitaine Marleau like most is neither the plots nor the guest stars (even Gérard Depardieu, David Suchet or Isabelle Adjani). It's when Corinne Masiero delivers Marleau's one-liners and social commentaries. With almost 8 million viewers, the series can afford everything. The star is known to ad lib, to the point that she's also credited with the writers. The title sequence of Grand Huit is almost a warning, because Corinne Masiero looks like she's freewheeling a lot in this episode only redeemed by its guest cast.

The great Bernard Alane (Magellan) plays Henri. Bernard Verley, seen in Quand sort la recluse, is Mickey. Myriam Boyer appears as Elisabeth Bouvier, the grumpy neighbour. Humorist and actor Tom Villa (Munch) does a good job as gendarme Kevin, the typical France 3 deputy (cf. Thibaud in Crimes parfaits). Also with Serge Hazanavicius (Boyer), Xavier Robic (Bertrand Ross), Sophie Verbeeck (Maeva Linetty), Vincent Roger (Alban), Benjamin Duba Paris (Jordy Bouchard), Nathalie Vignes (Pathologist), Laurie Bordesoules (Waitress), Baptiste Ballouhey (Christian Boyer) and Miki the dog (2).

Co-produced by Passionfilms and Bel Ombre Films with France Télévisions and the support of Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Département du Lot-et-Garonne. With the participation of RTS - Radio Télévision Suisse and R.T.B.F. (Télévision belge). Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac. Jean-Christophe Cardineau is the production manager. Cinematography by Stefan Ivanov. Editing by Yves Langlois. Music by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn. Marc Eisenchteter is the story editor. Capitaine Marleau is available in the U.S. on VOD service MHZ Choice under the title Captain Marleau. 

(1)  Based on the work of bestselling author Fred Vargas. Corinne Masiero reprised her role of Violette Retancourt, a character she first played in 2009, alongside Jean-Hughes Anglade and Jacques Spiesser (Magellan).
(2) "Et pour la première fois à l'écran, le chien Miki"! 

COLLECTION FRED VARGAS: QUAND SORT LA RECLUSE - 1 & 2 (FRANCE 2)

Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg pulls a thread of mystery, revenge and murder when he gets intrigued by a very peculiar spider.

The hero of French pubcaster France 2's Collection Fred Vargas is back with the outstanding Quand sort la recluse.

Created by best-selling French crime writer Fred Vargas (nom de plume of Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau), Commissaire Adamsberg is the main character of nine novels and three novellas published between 1991 and 2017. This contemplative and melancolic detective is surrounded by a colourful team comprised of the erudite Commandant Adrien Danglard, computer expert Lieutenant Froissy, Lieutenant Voisenet (an amateur ichthyologist), Lieutenant Louis Veyrenc, Brigadier Estalère, Mordent, Mercadet, Noël and the colossal "polyvalent goddess" of the brigade: Lieutenant Violette Retancourt. Let's not forget La Boule, a  big cat who lives on the photocopier.

Pars vite et reviens tard (Have Mercy on Us All, 2001), the third Commissaire Adamsberg mystery, became a Régis Wargnier movie in 2006 with José Garcia as the commissaire. In 2008, director and producer Josée Dayan (Les rois maudits, Les misérables, Le comte de Monte Cristo) launched her Collection Fred Vargas for France 2 with Sous les vents de Neptune. Author, scriptwriter and director Emmanuel Carrère penned this 2 x 90-minute adaptation of the fourth Adamsberg book (Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand, 2004) starring Jean-Hughes Anglade (Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg), Jacques Spiesser (Danglard), Hélène Fillières (Camille Forestier), Myriam Boyer (Clémentine), the great Jeanne Moreau,  Corinne Masiero (Retancourt), etc.

Sous les vents de Neptune was followed by L'homme aux cercles bleus (The Chalk Circle Man, Adamsberg #1) and L'homme à l'envers (Seeking Whom He May Devour, Adamsberg #2) in 2009 and Un lieu incertain (An Uncertain Place, Adamsberg #6) in 2010, three 90-minute films for television. Nine years later, Jean-Hughes Anglade returns as Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg in Quand sort la recluse, based on the ninth Adamsberg mystery (This Poison Will Remain, 2017). Helmed by Josée Dayan, who co-produces through her company Passionfilms, this 2 x 90-minute TV movie written by Emmanuel Carrère was filmed between August and October 2018 in Paris, Uzès, Nimes and in Camargue.

Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg shortens his holidays in Iceland and returns to Paris as Adrien Danglard needs his help on the murder of the wife of an arrogant lawyer. But soon the attention of the commissaire is diverted by the death of three old men bitten by recluse spiders in the south of France. At the Muséum d'Histoire naturelle, Adamsberg meets Irène Royer-Ramier, a woman who knows a lot about the recluse spider. He goes into an unofficial investigation, for the highest scepticism of Danglard. Raphaël Adamsberg (1), Jean-Baptiste's own brother, holds one of the keys to this very strange case. Retancourt tells her boss that Froissy is confonted with a rather scary problem and something smells fishy in the brigade.

The cast of Quand sort la recluse, mostly composed of  regular collaborators of Josée Dayan, is impressive. Since Un lieu incertain, Corinne Masiero became the star of Capitaine Marleau (2015) for France 3. Directed and produced by Dayan, it's France's most popular TV series. Jacques Spiesser is Commissaire Magellan (2009), another hit of France 3. Aymeric Demarigny, who plays Brigadier Estalère, is known today for the character of Brière in Capitaine Marleau. Froissy is played by Sylvie Testud, Veyrenc by Jérôme Kircher and Élisabeth Depardieu brings an appropriate subtlety to Irène. Pierre Arditi (Blood of the Vine) appears as Dr. Cauvert. 

Also with Thierry Hancisse (of the Comédie-Française) as Voisenet, Issaka Sawadogo (Mathias), Julia Duchaussoy (Estelle),  Bernard Verley (Vessac), Christian Vadim (Maître Carvin), Jacques Bonnaffé (Dr. Malempiat), etc. Co-produced by Passionfilms and Bel Ombre Films with France Télévisions and the participation of TV5 Monde. Distributed by Europacorp. Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac. The superb music was composed by singer and actor Benjamin Biolay, recently seen in an episode of Capitaine Marleau. Drawings by Philippe Druillet. Cinematography by Stefan Ivanov. Editing by Yves Langlois. Quand sort la recluse is a quite faithful adaptation of the Fred Vargas book and an exceptional television fiction.

(1) Played by Jean-Hughes Anglade too.

CAPITAINE MARLEAU: UNE VOIX DANS LA NUIT (FRANCE 3)

One of the listeners of a radio show dies live on air.

Written by actress/scriptwriter Emmanuelle Michelet (who's among the guest cast) and Alexia de Oliveira Gomes (Crimes parfaits) with Capitaine Marleau star Corinne Masiero, Une voix dans la nuit is helmed as usual by director and series co-producer Josée Dayan. It's the 15th episode of French pubcaster France 3's hugely popular crime drama (launched in 2015).

«Je lui dirai les mots bleus.
Les mots qu'on dit avec les yeux. » (Christophe)

Eva Detrais is the host of Les mots bleus on Radio 7 Boulogne-sur-Mer, a late-night programme where listeners confide their problems. Chloé Leroux, a young woman, calls Eva. She cries, when suddenly the sound of a gun shot can be heard. Chloé has been murdered and Capitaine Marleau investigates. It occurs that Eva Detrais knew the victim. Someone targets former constestants of the Miss Côte d'Opale beauty pageant. Eva's assistant uses his job to seduce female listeners and the murder weapon belongs to a gendarme!

Ne plus mourir, jamais, the atypical previous episode, was above all a vehicle for French star Isabelle Adjani based on a novel published years before the creation of Marleau. The excellent Une voix dans la nuit is a healthy return to basics thanks to the well-crafted scenario, a perfect Corinne Masiero and a fine cast. Jeanne Balibar plays Eva, a character between radio show host Macha Béranger and TV weathercaster Catherine Laborde. Singer and actor Benjamin Biolay is brilliant as the ambiguous photographer Philippe Louveau.

Stéphane Debac is Lieutenant Franck Villiers, the interesting deputy of Marleau in this episode. Camille Garcia is irresistible as the gendarmerie telephone operator. Radio columnist and author Guy Carlier appears as the radio station manager. Also with singer and actress Camille (Caroline Celac), Micha Lescot (Jean-Charles Dumont), Victor Belmondo (Thomas Alleaume), Emmanuelle Michelet (Marie), Pauline Dicry (Chloé), Claudia Fortunato (Juliette), Armel Cazedepats (Alexandre), etc. 

Co-produced by Passionfilms and Gaspard & Co with France Télévisions and the support of Pictanovo and Région Hauts-de-France. With the participation of Radio Télévision Suisse and R.T.B.F. (Télévision belge). Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac. Cinematography by Stefan Ivanov. Editing by Yves Langlois. Music by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn. Marc Eisenchteter is the story editor. Series created by Elsa Marpeau. Capitaine Marleau is available in the U.S. on VOD service MHZ Choice under the title Captain Marleau.  

(Amandine Attard contributed to this review)  

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/03/capitaine-marleau-ne-plus-mourir-jamais.html

CAPITAINE MARLEAU: NE PLUS MOURIR, JAMAIS (FRANCE 3)

Isabelle emerges from a long coma to discover that the novel in which she was the main character has been turned into an episode of France's most popular TV series.

The bottom line: When Isabelle met Marleau.

After Gérard Depardieu, Pierre Arditi (Blood of the Vine) or David Suchet (Agatha Christie's Poirot), France 3's megahit crime drama Capitaine Marleau welcomes another very special guest star alongside Corinne Masiero as Marleau: the great Isabelle Adjani. Helmed as usual by director and series co-producer Josée Dayan, Ne plus mourir, jamais is based on the 2008 namesake novel written by Franco-British scriptwriter/author Marc Eisenchteter. He co-wrote the adaptation with Christian François, Elsa Marpeau (who created Capitaine Marleau) and Corinne Masiero. 

Eisenchteter previously penned the very good Suchet episode (Sang et lumière) with British-American writer and musician John McNulty. In Ne plus, mourir jamais, Isabelle Adjani plays Isabelle Laumont, a laboratory researcher who leaves the hospital some months after her awakening from a 15-year coma caused by an accident. She's firmly decided to reconquer her scientific work and her family. Particularly her companion, Richard Tamani, who ended up marrying Élise Jeanson, the babysitter. Isabelle is now a stranger to Aurore, her teenage daughter, and only her son Tom supports her. Élise is found dead in the river Charente, murdered. 

Capitaine Marleau announces the news to Richard and she visits Isabelle, who becomes the main suspect. This is not the first time that Marleau is shoehorned into the plot of a novel, not unlike when Columbo (an acknowledged influence of Capitaine Marleau) used two novels of Ed McBain with mixed results. Last year's episode Double jeu was based on the novel Le sosie de la morgue by Claude Luxel (alias Lucien Riffard). Published in 1935, it was first adapted in 1949 for the cinema as Entre onze heures et minuit (directed by Henri Decoin). Josée Dayan herself wanted to film her own adaptation of Le sosie de la morgue in 2015 with Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant but the movie wasn't made.

Double jeu was an unsatisfactory substitute to Josée Dayan's film project and a rather odd departure from the series format, worsened by an awkward origin story of Marleau. Ne plus mourir, jamais is less an episode of Capitaine Marleau than the book of Marc Eisenchteter brought to the screen. Isabelle Adjani is both convincing and touching. Marleau is so self-aware that she seems to know she's on TV. Also with Thibault de Montalembert (Richard Tamani), Didier Flamand (Professor Lalou), Yannick Renier (Vincent Duparc), Quentin Dolmaire (Tom Tamani), Lily Taïeb (Laurianne Petitbois), Raph (Aurore Tamani), Sarah Pasquier (Élise Jeanson Tamani) and Christine Murillo (Valérie Wilkins).

Produced by Passionfilms and Gaspard and Co with France Télévisions. With the participation of Radio Télévision Suisse and R.T.B.F. (Télévision belge). Filmed with the support of Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac. Cinematography by Stefan Ivanov. Editing by Yves Langlois. Music by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn. Capitaine Marleau is available in the U.S. on VOD service MHZ Choice under the title Captain Marleau.

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/09/capitaine-marleau-double-jeu-france-3.html (Double jeu) 
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/04/capitaine-marleau-sang-et-lumiere.html (Sang et lumière)

See also:

https://calmann-levy.fr/livre/ne-plus-mourir-jamais-9782702139028
https://mhzchoiceblog.com/first-look-captain-marleau/
http://www.lcj-editions.com/home/1919-capitaine-marleau-5051889618089.html