Sweetheart (1992) User Reviews

Offbeat crime movie begins with promise, goes nowhere

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 14 April 2024]

"Toutes Peines Confondues" begins with some promise (if somewhat confusingly), as it runs through the events that bring a cop (Patrick Bruel) and a criminal (Jacques Dutronc) together. But after the first 20 minutes or so, the film seems to lose its way - and its sense of purpose. There is so much small talk and so many word games between the two men that at times you may wonder if they are flirting and if that's the subtext of the film, which is further marred by the distasteful treatment of its secondary female character (Sophie Broustal). The acting is good by all and there is some nice scenery, mostly in Switzerland. ** out of 4.

blue psycho-thriller with erotic moments

[donmojitos · 9/10 · 12 March 2005]

deville's thriller is very fascinating to the last moment. the whole movie is held in a mystic blue as is the picture's atmosphere. conclusions and story line equal each other in sharpness and very sexy mathilda may adds an superb erotic touch to it. no explosions or dumb Hollywood shootings disturb the intelligent logic plot at any point. every moment of the movie feels right, the director never looses his line or control. the male leads bruel and dutronc deliver great performances as well. in my eyes this is clearly one of the 10 best french films of the 90ies. it should be your first choice, if you like straight intelligent stories created by brains like mrs. highsmith.

One of the best poetic thriller cop movie ever

[belgamino · 9/10 · 8 December 2006]

A village in the Alps, some thieves murdered a couple of old people. The young inspector Vade must inquire but he collaborates, by annoys or ambition, in the revenge of the son of the couple, the mysterious businessman, Gardella, who eliminates the murderers. Taking the chance, an agent of Interpol, Thurston, which watched Gardella for a long time, transfers Vade to Zurich and handles it so that the young cop informs him on the activities of the businessman and tends a trap to him. Seduced by Gardella and his very beautiful wife, Jeanne, Vade must choose his camp and avoid being manipulated.

On a well tied up story of an American polar (Sweat hearts by Coburn), Deville stylizes (as he had already done for Dossier 51) a mise en scene and dialogs with double meanings, playing with words in French and an actor direction shifted near to the theater but less exaggerated than a Kusturica. This stylization on the thriller genre is an experiment which transforms a dark police movie into a story full of poetry in the dialogs and the images. I recommend it for everyone, in particular amateurs of the police genre and the lovers of French. Note the great building of the characters; all have something to tell, and the beauty of Mathilda May.