Inspector Lavardin

A devout writer is found murdered in a provincial town with a word written on the body. Inspector Lavardin, sent to investigate, arrives to find that the victim's widow is a former lover of his. That personal connection does not make the case easier; his methods already ignore the rules, and now he has no impartiality either. Claude Chabrol's film continues the character he introduced in Poulet au vinaigre (1984), taking what worked best there and putting it at the center. Lavardin is not a hero: he lies, he hits people, he withholds evidence and applies his own idea of justice. Chabrol does not endorse this either; he sets the hypocrisy of the provincial bourgeoisie next to the arbitrariness of the police. Jean Poiret plays Lavardin. The character later moved to television, with four episodes made between 1988 and 1990; Poiret's death in 1992 closed the series. Who it's for: Viewers who like Chabrol, French provincial crime, and morally clouded detectives. Who it's not for: The solution holds no surprise for genre regulars and the pace is low. Lavardin's methods can also read as uncomfortably endorsed.