The Statement

Dir: Norman Jewison

2003

***

Based on the 1996 novel by Brian Moore, The Statement is the great Norman Jewison’s last film before retirement. It was inspired by the true story of Paul Touvier, a Vichy French police official, who was indicted after World War II for war crimes. In 1944, Touvier ordered the execution of seven Jews in retaliation for the Resistance's assassination of Vichy France minister Philippe Henriot. For decades after the war he escaped trial thanks to an intricate web of protection, which included senior members of the Roman Catholic priesthood. In real life Touvier was controversially pardoned in the 1970s but remained on the run until his capture in 1989. He died in prison in 1996, the year the novel was published. Moore’s Touvier character however goes by the name of Pierre Brossard, he’s every bit the same as Touvier apart from the fact he was never pardoned or caught by the authorities. The novel and adaptation features an extra element of a fictional organisation outside of the police that is tracking down World War II war criminals and eliminating them for crimes against humanity. The story sees Brossard on the run from hired hit-men with the police following close behind. When Brossard kills the first hit-man hired to kill him, he soon finds the Catholic priesthood that has protected him all these years starting to distance them from him. It’s a solid thriller but it comes with certain issues. Firstly, it really should be in French. Pretty much every actor in the film is British and speaks English, which seems a little bit ridiculous. One would have thought lessons had been learned from The Hunt For Red October but then many a great World War film has been filmed in English from the German point of view and has been successful. Personally it bothered me but I soon began to see beyond it. The film began rather well with Brossard hotly pursued by the hit-man but the thriller element soon waned. This was something of a shame seeing as it started so well but then the real serious issue – the protection Brossard had received by the Church – was able to be explored further and this was essentially what Moore’s novel was highlighting. The film itself has a made-for-television feel about it but I have to say I enjoyed seeing the south of France in the early 00’s, a time when I holidayed there quite a lot. While the content could have been explored a little further, the performances do go a long way towards making up for it – and the rest of the film’s misgivings. Tilda Swinton plays her role as Investigating Judge Annemarie Livi with a unique edge that sets her character apart from the rest, while Jeremy Northam gives a sturdy performance as her counter part Colonel Roux, a senior French Gendarmerie investigator. The supporting cast are made up of some all time greats including Alan Bates, John Neville, Ciarán Hinds, Frank Finlay and Charlotte Rampling, along with fresher faces such as Colin Salmon and Peter Wight. However, the film really belongs to Michael Caine as the main character Pierre Brossard, and it soon becomes unimportant that he seems like a Brit abroad – even though he’s supposed to be an ex-Vichy French police official and proud countryman. His performances outshines the film as a whole if I’m being honest but all in all, it’s a well-rounded thriller that is entertaining from start to finish.