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July 2010
cast: Daniel Auteuil, Olivia Bonamy, Phillippe Nahon, Guy Lecluyse, and Catherine Marchal
director: Olivier Marchal
120 minutes (15) 2009
widescreen ratio 2.35:1
Optimum DVD Region 2 retail
RATING: 6/10
review by Christopher Geary
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MR 73
Louis (Daniel Auteuil, The Second Wind, Hidden) is a cop in
Marseilles. He's a drunk, frequently wasted on the job, but - perhaps foolishly - he maintains a steadfast moral dimension that makes him more
of a hindrance than an asset to his colleagues in the police force, many of whom would prefer to just get on with their cynical scams and thieving
instead of bothering to actually solve crimes, particularly the case of a series of rapes and murders which leave detectives, Louis included,
stumped as to exactly how the serial killer gains entry to female victims' homes, or even how the killer chooses his victims.
Justine (Olivia Bonamy, Bloody Mallory, Them) is a barmaid,
and a surviving victim of a much earlier crime. She was orphaned when an intruder brutally murdered both of her parents. Even now, having
witnessed that brutality, she's understandably distraught because the convicted killer, Subra (Phillippe Nahon, Switchblade Romance),
is due for parole, and she hopes that apparently honourable Louis, who worked on the case of the double-homicide of her parents, 25 years ago,
can help her convince the relevant authorities that Subra is still a threat - to her, at least - and should remain in prison.
"A cop's truth can be unpleasant." This solid - if rather unexceptional - policier, is made by former policeman Olivier Marchal, who directs
it as the concluding part of a thematic trilogy, including 36 Quai Des Orfevres (2004), and Gangsters (2002). Although Gangsters
(which stars Anne Parillaud) is not currently available on DVD with English subtitles, 36 (the film's full title is a Parisian address) was
released by the now defunct Tartan. 36 also features Auteuil, alongside Gérard Depardieu, and both actors deliver great performances.
Based on a true story, MR 73 (aka: The Last Deadly Mission) - the original title refers to a type of revolver favoured by elite
French tactical police - is not a crime film like typical Hollywood cop movie productions. It's a drama of corruption and redemption which,
mostly, adheres to a consistent reality that's downbeat and sees protagonists haunted by the past, and failing in their struggles to cope with
the present and face the rather dismal and depressing future. However, there's one crippling flaw in the storyline. It centres on a peculiar
sort of philosophical outlook, concerning the law and criminal punishment, that's clearly identified by the film's narrative, although the
director makes no obvious comment upon it.
The issue concerns the familiar prison yard story of the hardcore felon who 'finds god' while incarcerated, and somehow manages to
convince a parole board that he's a reformed character on the basis of his repentant conversion to Christianity (or whatever church is most
popular in the prison's locality). As an atheist, I have a big problem with this because it seems very odd to judge an individual's moral
character based on their religious beliefs, moreso when the person is a convicted killer. Should any such cases even merit a parole hearing?
A killer who claims to be rehabilitated by newfound religious faith deserves only the most stringent psychiatric examination, and suitable
treatment, for what rationality and modern science confirms is simply just another delusion, not serious consideration for an early release
on parole. So we come to the movie's flaw of pure idiocy. Yes, they let the dangerous nutcase go free! This, of course, reveals a greater
problem, which neither the film's story or this review of it has the scope to address... Why is religious faith still considered a virtue?
Nevertheless, that plot twist doesn't ruin the film, but it does spoil the overall result, and contributes to the dreadful clichés of stoic
heroism and lone self-sacrifice that conspire to weaken the film's closing sequence. MR 73 is definitely worth seeing for Auteuil's
portrait of grouchy, slovenly, alcoholic stupor, and his wrestling with the constants of despair and powerlessness while living in a bleak
and unappealing world.
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