Antoine Bellefond (Stéphane Bern) is a top criminal prosecutor in France. He’s known as the “Condamnator” because of his prowess in putting bad people behind bars. But his reputation is in tatters after he prosecutes an innocent man accused of murdering his own child. The defendant, upon hearing the guilty verdict, overpowers a police officer in court and shoots himself after declaring his innocence.
If you want to avoid spoilers, stop reading this article now.
Bellefond is vilified and suffers a crisis of confidence in his own abilities as a prosecutor. He teaches in a law school, but he can tell that even his own students have lost faith in him – he’s not the revered man he once was.
He is then approached by his niece, who he hasn’t seen for many years. She pleads with him to return to his home village, where her father – his brother-in-law – has been accused of murder. She is convinced of her father’s innocence, but he has pleaded guilty to the charge and is refusing any sort of defence.
Supported by three of his best students, Bellefond switches sides – from prosecutor to defender – as he and his sidekicks try to understand why his brother-in-law is apparently confessing to a crime he did not commit.
This is pretty lightweight stuff. There are mildly comedic undertones – the relationship between Bellefond and his former girlfriend, who is now the local police chief, is quite engaging. And the landscape in rural France is pretty to look at. But in terms of narrative, plot and overall quality, it’s all fairly run of the mill and vanilla.
Having said that, some of the antics that Bellefond and his students get up to would see any real person in his position debarred immediately. For example, in one scene we witness Bellefond and one his students letting the victim’s widow believe that he is the prosecutor in her late husband’s case, when he is actually defending the man accused of killing her husband. I mean, really? Would anyone with a legal background act that way, particularly with a law student in tow?
There is the usual motley crew of potential culprits – assuming the innocence of Bellefond’s brother-in-law. And we slow understand why he has been estranged from his family home for many years following the death of his mother. But ultimately, the characterisation is all very much an after-thought here in what is a pedestrian mystery drama. It reminds me a little of the type of American daytime TV “straight to video” movies that pepper our schedules. Beautiful people, lovely scenery – but very little in the way of substance. The final denouement manages to be both implausible and yet strangely predictable.
Walter Presents have delivered some gems this year (as they have every year), but I’m sorry to say that Bellefond won’t be featuring in any of my Best Of lists.
Walter Presents: ‘Bellefond’ is available as a full boxset via C4 Streaming now.
