LE POULPE  (1998)  ***1/2

Reviewed 3/20/99

Le Poulpe, or the Octopus, is the nickname of a would-be detective popularized in novels by Jean-Bernard Pouy.  The Octopus (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) is not really a detective, but more of a prier into other people's business. Accompanied by his nymphomaniac girlfriend Cheryl (Clothilde Courau), who seduces both men and women left and right, and his vagabond sidekick Pedro (Aristide Demonico), the Octopus finds himself trying to uncover a murder or two in a small harbor town. Director Guillaume Nicloux has obviously been inspired by Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino, but he does a better job than most American copycats with his eccentric, bad-ass characters and irreverent tone. Nicloux weaves together not altogether successfully a graverobbery, a missing teenager, a corpse in a submarine, a drunken tramp, an enigmatic transvestite, and a mysterious ship. Among the actors, Courau is particularly notable since she's the only character with an internal conflict (the Octopus would rather pursue mysteries than spend time with her). She has her moment of mutual empowerment and exploitation (but more exploitation) when, interrupted in the middle of a bath, she has to ward off thugs in the nude.  The film's anything-can-happen tone makes this film stand out above the rest of the crowd.

Copyright © 1999 George Wu