Storyline

Lt. Jacques Renard (Christophe Lambert) has hit rock bottom following the death of his wife. After a failed suicide attempt, Renard is given a new sense of purpose when a strange woman (Sophie Marceau) advises him to pay a visit to room 401 at the Hotel Riviera. Once there, Renard discovers that the hotel's director is missing -- but the staff maintains that there is no room 401. His suspicions are raised, and Renard's obsession with the case pushes him to the brink of madness.

Plot Keywords

police officer, hotel manager, wife, mother, mysterious woman, paraplegic, suspenseful, dark, france, household, hotel, morgue, missing persons, disappearance, death of spouse, suicide attempt, investigation, obsession, mystery, quest, 2000s

Short Review

I'm a little torn about the rating, I was ready to give 3.5 based on the in-the-moment experience, but some facets don't add up for me afterwards. Which side of a film has the greater effect, the immediate impact or the following deconstruction? That's always a good argument for discussion. 3 stars is still a positive review on my scale, and the movie is certainly better than the average user score indicates.A cop (Christophe Lambert) traumatized by the death of his wife returns to the force perhaps before he's ready, as his concerned peers talk about his seeing ghosts of her. On that first day back, he is visited by a mysterious woman who seems to know him and instructs him to visit a certain room in a fancy hotel. There he learns about the disappearance of the hotel owner and discovers the secret Room 401 adorned with photos and memorabilia of the woman he met - an actress named Victoria who died in 1970. Is she real or another figment of his troubled mind? That is the springboard for this mystery which starts cautiously but then really picks up the pace. 2nd-time director Sophie Marceau effectively disorients the viewer in certain instances by using abrupt editing techniques and camera motions so that our confusion mirrors Lambert's when his focus gets scattered. She throws in a great car chase and occasional doses of humor, particularly with a female officer named Fred who antagonizes her partner every time she eats food in the cruiser. I've only seen Lambert in his stonefaced English roles so I was pleasantly surprised at his ability to carry this movie. Marceau also devised the story, co-wrote the screenplay, and plays the part of the furtive femme fatale, so there must have been some bigtime wish fulfillment going on with the dozens of glamour photographs used as scenery dressing that she got to pose for adorned in styles from the 1960s. In hindsight the motivations seem murky and not wholly convincing, but at least during the screening you blissfully won't have time to think too much about them.

Trailer

Streaming Service

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