Les Complices, with François Damiens, is a beautiful UFO in French cinema (review)

Laura Felpin and William Lebghil surround him in this comedy to be seen again this evening on Canal +.

Max (François Damiens), a ruthless hitman, discovers that he has a problem: he now faints at the slightest drop of blood. His future in the profession being compromised, he will have to retrain. But not so simple when his only professional skill is to kill people… He gets help from a couple of young neighbors, Stéphanie (Laura Felpin) and Karim (William Lebghil), who don’t imagine for a moment who they are dealing with. . Max becomes attached, despite himself, to the young couple, until his past catches up with him…

At a time when the Alpe d’Huez festival is in full swing, Canal + is banking on two winners from last year for its Friday blockbuster evening: The partners in crime And 38.5 Quai des Orfèvres. First recommends the first, which, if not without faults, is original enough to convince. Not to mention that it is carried by actors in great form: Laura Felpin, François Damiens and William Lebghil.

The winners of the Alpe d’Huez 2023 festival are here

It would start almost as a Carambar joke: “ What’s the last straw for a hitman? To faint at the slightest drop of blood ! » On this pitch as simple as it is perfectly hilarious, Cécilia Rouaud (Family photo) signs a unique film with Coenian accents – atmosphere Blood for blood And Fargo. In the shoes of Max, a fifty-year-old killer in forced retirement due to fainting spells, we find François Damiens and his brilliant six-foot-long face. Short of money and depressed, Max starts a new job in real estate, letting Karim and Stéphanie into his life (William Lebghil – crowned best actor at the Alpe d’Huez festival and Laura Felpin, imperial) . A small, uneventful couple who suspect nothing about the true nature of their neighbor. Until, of course, the killer’s past catches up with him…

If it does not completely avoid errors along the way (a few lengths and less than credible scenes surrounding the organization employing Max), The partners in crime succeeds in linking a certain form of realism and humor on the borders of the absurd. The film exists in a kind of joyful melancholy, revealing a rather fine reflection on the devaluation of kindness and the violence of the world of work. Populated by hilarious supporting roles (Jean-François Cayrey plays a salesman as stupid as a broom, Bruno Podalydès a “cleaner” in Hawaiian shirts…), this funny project in unstable balance is a beautiful UFO in the French cinematographic landscape.