36, quai des Orfèvres 2004

Two great actors go head to head in this sleek cop vs cop drama, a hit in France late last year. Gérard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil play long-serving detectives, old allies in bitter and devious competition for the same career-capping promotion. It's Auteuil's steely professionalism versus Depardieu's sad, lumbering obstinacy. The address in the title is France’s equivalent to Scotland Yard. “This stylish, relentlessly moody cop saga benefits from crackerjack scripting, intriguing motivations and excellent performances… Drawing heavily on actual events of the mid-80s, former cop Olivier Marchal has fashioned a picture that, with its bloody shootouts and heartbreaking betrayals, depicts police work as a risky profession in which loyalty and experience can sometimes, though not always, trump bad luck. Every action sequence is more than matched by the bloodless, chess-like maneuvering of foes and allies… Depardieu's haunting performance – arguably one of his best ever – is a mantle of sorrow kept at bay by the perceived compensations of power.” — Lisa Nesselson, Variety