Adieu, poulet (1975)
Directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre

Film Review

With its lively action scenes, gripping story and impressive cast, which is headed by two of the great icons of French cinema, it is easy to see why Adieu, poulet is still regarded as one of the best French policiers of the 1970s.  Strongly influenced by American thrillers of the time - for example, the Dirty Harry films - the French polar had by this time gained far more gritty realism than in previous decades, which meant there was much more in the way of physical violence and more direct allusions to contemporary worries about police corruption and underhand political involvement in the judicial system.  The film's account of a seemingly incorruptible maverick cop battling against his superiors, all of whom are implicated in some nasty political intrigue, somewhat resembles that of the second Dirty Harry film, Magnum Force (1973), with Lino Ventura proving that he is more than up to the job of filling Clint Eastwood's shoes, as and when required.

This is arguably Ventura's finest hour as the no-nonsense tough guy, the role with which he is most closely associated and in which he excels.  His is hardly a sympathetic portrayal - in one scene he is seen effortlessly turfing a group of Hare Krishnas into the street as though they were sacks of rubbish - and yet he exudes such moral authority that he completely monopolises our sympathy.  Whilst everything around him appears to be tainted with corruption, Ventura triumphantly emerges, in Dirty Harry fashion, as society's avenging angel.  And what an inspired piece of casting to partner him with Patrick Dewaere, a rising young star who would become renowned for playing livewire rebels and misfits with a manic intensity.  Despite their very different acting styles, Ventura and Dewaere are two of a kind - charismatic, dangerous and unpredictable - you just cannot imagine a more perfect match of contrasting personalities in a French crime thriller.   With such a dynamic duo blazing across the screen, it is all too easy to overlook the film's extraordinary ensemble of supporting players - Claude Rich, Victor Lanoux and Julien Guiomar - all supremely convincing as the three prime villains of the piece.

Given how slick and well-constructed Adieu, poulet is, it is surprising to learn that it was directed not by an habitué of the cold dark world of the polar (Jacques Deray, Georges Lautner, Henri Verneuil, etc.) but instead by Pierre Granier-Deferre, a filmmaker who had very limited experience of the genre.  Granier-Deferre had made one notable thriller before this - La Horse (1970) - but this was more a psychological drama in the French tradition rather than the full-bodied American-style police procedural that Adieu, poulet assuredly is.  Just as surprising is the fact that the taut and fast-moving screenplay was written by Francis Veber, who is renowned not for tough thrillers but outlandish comedies, such as La Chèvre (1981) and Le Dîner de cons (1998).

What is most striking about Granier-Deferre's oeuvre is its diversity - his films range from the oddball comedy thriller La Métamorphose des cloportes (1965) to cruel character studies such as Le Chat (1971). Granier-Deferre was a contemporary of the New Wave directors (Godard, Truffaut, etc.) but represented a continuation of the quality tradition, eager to build on what had gone before rather than rip up the floorboards and start afresh.  Many of his films were every bit as stylish, provocative and idiosyncratic as anything coming out of the Nouvelle Vague, but generally had far greater mainstream appeal, partly because he could attract the biggest stars in French cinema (Alain Delon, Jean Gabin, Simone Signoret, to name just three).  Whilst some of Granier-Deferre's films can easily be written off as being too conservative, some, such as La Cage (1975) and Une étrange affaire (1981), are daringly innovative.  Adieu, poulet illustrates Granier-Deferre at his artistic and technical best - a hard-edged thriller à l'américain which was so popular that it helped to establish a new sub-genre in French cinema, the neo-polar - France's version of the conspiracy thriller which expressed growing public concern over widespread corruption in high places.  Patrick Dewaere would star in one of the most successful and chilling examples of the genre, Yves Boisset's Le Juge Fayard dit Le Shériff (1977).

Film Synopsis

In the course of a fiercely contested election in the French town of Rouen, a violent fight breaks out between the supporters of the two candidates.  The scuffle ends with a man being beaten to death and a police officer being shot.  Before he dies, the latter manages to pass on the name of his killer to his colleagues - it is apparently Portor, a well-known troublemaker whose brother is actively campaigning for the law-and-order candidate in the election, Lardatte.  Superintendent Verjeat leads the hunt for Portor but his efforts are hindered by Lardatte, against whom he has a longstanding grudge.  Aware that he is about to be promoted and given a new position outside Rouen, Verjeat has very little time to bring Portor to book.  No doubt Lardette had a hand in arranging his convenient promotion.  Matters become even more fraught when Verjeat's associate Inspector Lefevre manages to get them both mixed up in police corruption...