MUBI

Le Cercle Rogue is another French policier that is a long, sometimes boring and sometimes tedious affair. It borrows heavily from The Asphalt Jungle, but is a hollow homage of that film. The standout performance for me is by Bourvil as the officer Mattei that is after Vogel and Corey.

There certainly is some fine cinematography and set scenes. However, the plot has many holes and character development is never realized or even attempted, with the exception of Mattei. Most notably, the idea of just one man (Mattei) escorting a highly dangerous criminal (Vogel) on a train is absurd. A stark juxtaposition of this in the film itself is when Vogel escapes and then seemingly all of France’s police force (cops, dogs, helicopters, checkpoints and cadets) go looking for him. The plot essentially contradicts itself.

This film, as with other French films in its genre, lacks the mystery, toughness, story lines and suspense of the better American film noirs. As with some other French neo-noirs, the film is too much style and not enough substance. It has too much gravitas and not enough grit. The scene sets are sometimes an overtly conscious calculation by the director to make the film look cool. Ironically, this leads to a lack of realism. These films are often admirable in their construction, but, in the end, lack the atmosphere, passion, toughness and entertainment value of their forebearers.