Un flic

Un flic
original film poster
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Produced by Robert Dorfmann
Written by Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring Alain Delon
Catherine Deneuve
Richard Crenna
Music by Michel Colombier
Cinematography Walter Wottitz
Edited by Patricia Nény
Release date
 October 1972 (France)
Running time
 98 min.
Country France / Italy
Language French
Box office $8,831,458[1]
1,464,806 admissions (France)[2]

Un flic (English: A Cop, also known as Dirty Money) is a 1972 French film, the last directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. It stars Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve and Richard Crenna.

Delon had previously worked with Melville on Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rouge playing the role of a criminal. In Un Flic Delon's role is reversed. He plays the cop, Édouard Coleman, this time in pursuit of Simon, a notorious Paris thief, who is very hard to pin down.

Motto

"The only feelings mankind has ever inspired in policemen are those of indifference and derision..." (Eugène-François Vidocq)

Plot

After a raid on a seaside bank in which a cashier is killed, four Paris gangsters flee with only part of the loot and with one of the men, Marc, fatally wounded. They put him in a private clinic and disperse. Their leader Simon owns a night club which is visited regularly by the police detective Coleman, to keep an eye on Simon and to pick up any information he can. Coleman also hopes to see the beautiful Cathy, who is Simon's mistress but spends occasional afternoons with Coleman in a hotel room. Fearing that the police will investigate Marc's gunshot wound, Simon sends Cathy into the clinic dressed as a nurse to give the dying man an air embolism. (A reference to this scene can be found in Tarantino's "Kill Bill" with Darryl Hannah playing the nurse)

Simon's next project is to steal a large quantity of heroin being transported out of France by a rival gang on the night express from Paris to Lisbon. From a helicopter he is lowered onto the speeding train in the empty countryside south of Bordeaux, knocks out the courier with chloroform, and is successfully winched up with the loot. An informer told Coleman that the operation was planned and catching Louis, another member of Simon's gang, Coleman gets him to give up the names of his accomplices.

After setting a tap on Simon's telephone, Coleman goes to the club and obliquely warns Simon that the police will be coming for him. Simon immediately telephones the fourth member of the gang, Paul, to warn him. Tracing the call, Coleman races to Paul's home, to find him shooting himself to avoid arrest. Simon then rings Cathy to come in her car and pick him up. As Simon emerges onto an empty street carrying an attaché case full of heroin, Coleman draws a gun and challenges him. As Simon seems to be reaching inside his coat for a gun, Coleman shoots him dead while Cathy watches helplessly from the getaway car. However, when Coleman inspects Simon's body, it is revealed that he had no gun at his person, leading Coleman to think it was more of a suicide. Coleman then is called away on another case, leaving a pensive Cathy alone. The film ends with a long shot on Coleman's face as he drives away.

Cast and crew

The crew included Sophie Tati (editing department) and Pierre Tati (second assistant director), the son and daughter of Jacques Tati.

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Box Office information for film at Box Office Story


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