“I’m not playing dead, I’m dead!” French light comedy with a detective tint. Actor loser Jean Reno (not to be confused with the same Jean Reno) is forced to work in commercials and episodic roles. Once Jean had all the glory of his eminent namesake compatriot: early loud fame and recognition, the Cesar Prize (the French equivalent of the Oscar), crowds of fans and offers. However, it became increasingly difficult to work with the actor, and then his meticulous meticulousness to small things quickly led to oblivion. It was then that Jean Reno received an unusual offer: to play one of the key roles in a real detective investigation, depicting ... the victim of a crime, in other words - a corpse! But there is no choice. A high-profile series of murders in the ski resort of Megeve occurred a year ago, the criminal - Monsieur Servaz - was caught and actually pleaded guilty. Now it is a matter of small — to conduct a series of investigative experiments and close the case. But the police did not suspect that inviting the star from the acclaimed detective series to the role of a corpse, they will get a real headache.
From the very beginning, we are given to understand that not everything is so clean in this case. The murderer would be happy to prove his guilt, but for some reason suffers from memory lapses and does not remember how he acted at the time of the murders. In addition, important evidence discovered by a failed actor begins to disappear. Personally, I tried to guess who the killer was, but I could not solve the criminal. The filmmakers made the main bet on showing the relationship of the hero François Damiens with representatives of the law and local residents of the ski resort, rather than revealing the line of investigation. From the point of view of the detective, the film is weak. However, the comedic component in it is not bad. Subtle French humor, tricky situations and replicas give the film Jean-Paul Salome a certain charm.
It so happened that François Damiens often falls to play the roles of such eccentrics – very strange characters, and I must say – it turns out to be quite good. Of course, everyone remembers his Marcus in a duet with the incomparable Audrey Tatu, or the scandalous “Newest Testament”. Fans of the actor will remember “Faithful business”, “Torpedo” and a number of similar roles. The actor undoubtedly became the decoration of the project, and the film without François Damiens would be another dull not quite successful detective. You can see how the actor often improvises and it went only to the benefit of the picture. By the way, the director Jean-Paul Salome starred in a small episode in the 85th minute as a reporter.
Of course, this movie is not for cinemas, which is convincingly evidenced by very modest box office. However, "I picture a corpse" is quite suitable for an evening rest in front of the TV, when you especially do not need to puzzle over the detective, fearing to lose the logic of the investigation.
Filming took place in the department of Upper Savoy in the picturesque Alps in the east of the country. The main episodes were filmed in the small mountain towns of Megeve and Sallanche. In addition, the nature for the mountain cemetery was found in Les-Ouches, and the final act at the rink was filmed in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains. It is also interesting that in many countries screenings of the film by Jean-Paul Salome were held under different names. So, American viewers saw the picture as “Playing the dead man”, Polish – “A case for a double”, Italian – “I am dead”, Hungarian – “Around him”.
8 out of 10