"The Inheritor" finds Jean Paul Belmondo, at the height of his fame, playing a business tycoon who has come from New York to Paris after his parents' death in a plane crash, which he suspects was not an accident but an assassination. It's a slick, flashy, fast-moving picture, with a couple of well-done (and unexpected) action scenes, and Belmondo is his usual charismatic self. However, Philippe Labro's direction is sometimes unnecessarily gimmicky, especially when he gets all crazy with the cutting between different places or even time periods. Belmondo's relationship with Carla Gravina does not ring true - we are meant to believe that she falls in love with him after slapping her hard, twice. As for the pessimistic ending, it's fairly predictable - it was the 1970s, after all! **1/2 out of 4.
4 Reviews
Slick, flashy but overly elliptical political thriller
gridoon202416 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Labro Winch
dbdumonteil24 January 2017
Philippe Labro 's sophomore effort "Sans Mobile Apparent" based on an Ed McBain novel,was an unpretentious but effective little thriller.
"L'Heritier " is another thriller ,but this time blown up out of proportions ;it seems that Labro had "citizen Kane " in mind ;he lived and studied in America and his infatuation with this country had kept growing.The style is jerky ,with flashbacks (two of them's purpose (algeria war and a rugby game)is to make us believe -which is,after Jean Dessailly's depiction ,redundant- that Bart Cordell is a tough guy .
It's a sprawling work ;overblown, full of implausibilities (do you really believe that Cordell spent ten years in the USA?),the story drags on ;Labro does not possess Henri Verneuil's know-how ("Le Clan Des Siciliens" almost sounds American,and that director does not go out of his way to,as Labro desperately does ) .The screenplay is a hodgepodge which involves the media power,the industry,social concerns,an unpleasant macho side ,WW2 concentration camps,the Vatican, the fascists ,a dangerous call girl,a terrible family secret ,sabotage and a roses greenhouse.
The movie features generally unsympathetic characters and it takes all the talent of seasoned actors to liven things up a little.Belmondo seems bigger than the screen:the sheer glorious immodesty of his character is a bit off-putting (the scene on the train with Carla Gravina ,and the slaps between her and her boss are downright embarrassing).
NB:the subject was reprized by writers Francq and Van Hamme in their absorbing comic strip "L'Heritier";Largo Winch has nothing to do with Cordell ,but his story is extremely well constructed ,masterfully blending present and past .
"L'Heritier " is another thriller ,but this time blown up out of proportions ;it seems that Labro had "citizen Kane " in mind ;he lived and studied in America and his infatuation with this country had kept growing.The style is jerky ,with flashbacks (two of them's purpose (algeria war and a rugby game)is to make us believe -which is,after Jean Dessailly's depiction ,redundant- that Bart Cordell is a tough guy .
It's a sprawling work ;overblown, full of implausibilities (do you really believe that Cordell spent ten years in the USA?),the story drags on ;Labro does not possess Henri Verneuil's know-how ("Le Clan Des Siciliens" almost sounds American,and that director does not go out of his way to,as Labro desperately does ) .The screenplay is a hodgepodge which involves the media power,the industry,social concerns,an unpleasant macho side ,WW2 concentration camps,the Vatican, the fascists ,a dangerous call girl,a terrible family secret ,sabotage and a roses greenhouse.
The movie features generally unsympathetic characters and it takes all the talent of seasoned actors to liven things up a little.Belmondo seems bigger than the screen:the sheer glorious immodesty of his character is a bit off-putting (the scene on the train with Carla Gravina ,and the slaps between her and her boss are downright embarrassing).
NB:the subject was reprized by writers Francq and Van Hamme in their absorbing comic strip "L'Heritier";Largo Winch has nothing to do with Cordell ,but his story is extremely well constructed ,masterfully blending present and past .
A damned good movie
xeqatdt2 July 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Did you like Le professional? Of course you did. A sad comic lonely fighter strikes back, facing danger without fear, even accepting being victim. A great Belmondo personation. L'Héritier, the Inheritor is the same dramatic personage, but without fun. A very rich and very tough and very honourable man wants to find the killers of his father and finally wants to save his son. Fighting against an invisible enemy. The story is really correct and, incidentally, depicts still existing problems.
Three great actors play a triangle of memorable roles. Tough, strict actions, well balanced dialogues, fatal silences sometimes, sharp cuts, and well supporting music, Philippe Labro and his drew composed a perfect and dark thriller, I mean it. I did not expect the final action, the punishing assassination till the last scenes, but this man really had to die. This is not a Hollywood story.
I saw this movie some twenty five years ago but I kept it on VHS, I had recorded it from TV, and now it's copied on a DVD. I've never met this unforgettable movie again, and I can't imagine the reason of this. Find it somewhere, and see it.
Three great actors play a triangle of memorable roles. Tough, strict actions, well balanced dialogues, fatal silences sometimes, sharp cuts, and well supporting music, Philippe Labro and his drew composed a perfect and dark thriller, I mean it. I did not expect the final action, the punishing assassination till the last scenes, but this man really had to die. This is not a Hollywood story.
I saw this movie some twenty five years ago but I kept it on VHS, I had recorded it from TV, and now it's copied on a DVD. I've never met this unforgettable movie again, and I can't imagine the reason of this. Find it somewhere, and see it.
Labro bites off more than he can chew
taylor988520 February 2002
Canal D has been showing some Belmondo films from the Seventies lately; this one is typical of his middle period, before Depardieu took over his mantle. Here we have a businessman who is battling rivals for control of a media empire created by his father. Into the mix is thrown Jewish deportations during World War II, contemporary Italian right-wing politics, muckraking journalists... It's really too much for the frail structure of a commercial thriller. The talented cast isn't given much to do, and suspension of disbelief goes too far (how could Cordell and the writer have survived that attack by two hitmen with rifles shooting directly down on them?).
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