Bellefond on France 3: How much is a TV movie worth with Stephane Bern as a prosecutor suffering from a miscarriage of justice?

Antoine Bellefond, the prosecutor, does not spare the criminals who cross his path. Until one of them, innocent, kills himself in full court. Shocked, Bellefond decides to stop his career… but his niece, whom he has not seen for years, calls for help: the father, Antoine’s brother-in-law, has been arrested for murder and refuses to be protected. Even though he is sure of his innocence.

Bellefond, also a professor of criminal justice, returns to his home village, accompanied by three of his best students, to solve this mystery, get back to his past and reconcile with his family.

Tuesday, October 18 at 9:10 p.m. on France 3

After Meurtres en Lorraine, an episode of season 4 of the art of crime, and recently in honor of his son, which caused a stir and greatly amused Internet users, Stephane Berni returned as an actor to Belfond, a new police station. which is the star.

Along with the host actor playing the role of prosecutor Antoine Belfond, France 3 viewers will find Anne Cajon (ours tomorrow) as Commander Audrey Passero, the police officer in charge of the investigation and a former acquaintance of the hero.

Alexandra Vandernoot (Here It All Begins), Arnaud Binard (The Last Wave), Melanie Robert (Un Si Grand Soleil) and Jean-Marie Winling (Nicolas Le Floch, Balthazar) interpret the sister-in-law accordingly. , niece and father of Bellefond.

A very good cast, played by three talented young actors who find us in the shoes of the students of the prosecutor’s office, helping him: Wendy Nieto (They Were 10, Cody), Oscar Berte (Jay Lied) and Julia Oberlinkels (Vortex).

On paper, Bellefond, which was pitched as a pilot aimed at becoming a series if successful, would almost have a murder-spoof air (the ABC drama hosted by Viola Davis), with his law professor surrounding himself with top students to anchor the series. investigation. But, obviously, the result is a far cry from the adventures of Annalize Keating. And it’s closer to the low-ambition police dramas that France 3 broadcasts throughout the year.

Past the first sections, which focus on the drama that forced Antoine Belfond, a former famous prosecutor, to stop his career and focus on his work as a professor of criminal law at the university, the TV movie of Emily and Sarah Barbeau portrays a very classic story that tries to really captivate us. Even if the investigation closely affects the hero, because his son-in-law is responsible for the vindication.

However, with its sun-drenched Drôme landscapes, familial tensions and mysteriously thwarted love stories, Bellefond should easily satisfy fans of the successful “Meurtres à…” collection. Especially since this pilot looks like a pretty classy opus because of the cast in it.

Well-known to the general public, Alexandra Vandernoot, Anne Keyon, Jean-Marie Vinling, Arnaud Binard, Melanie Robert, or even Juliette Plumecocque-Mech (Peur sur le lac) as the loud bar manager, all do well and perform with distinction. . And we regret that Anne Cajon, who marks her return to the screen eight months after her departure in Tomorrow We Belong, doesn’t have more scenes as this ex-Bellefond she finds in her home village by handing over her legs. .

Camila, Kevin, and Farima, the hero’s three “trainees,” are impeccably portrayed by Wendy Nieto, Oscar Berte, and Julia Oberlinkels, who stand out as talents to keep an eye on. And their trio of law students – the first wants to be a lawyer, the second a magistrate and the last a policeman – is certainly the only real good idea of ​​​​the script, which offers a bit of humor and surprise throughout.

Because if we’re more into the clash of cultures that emerges from the scenes where the prosecutor’s sober and tough side rubs shoulders with the calm, youthful, lighthearted side of his listeners, this is really the only series where Stephen Burney comes off as handsome. well

However, as a prosecutor and investigator as in the previous TV movie, more believable than the ex-fighter pilot, the anchor of the historical mystery is very lacking in naturalness when he reads his lines. Like the intro sequence of the TV movie, in which he launches into a full-court pretense of being simply ridiculous, close to Jean-Luc Reichman’s best moments in Leo Mattei.

And we’re not even talking about the flashes of realization and other “tricks” that are meant to translate the wound that afflicts Antoine, who will not recover from the attempt at justice that he committed and that cost the life of an innocent man. A master class in the art of precision and finesse, indeed.

In short, if Bellefond itself has nothing to be ashamed of and will definitely find its audience, the pilot of this detective series should, above all, please the detractors of Stephane Bernie, who will definitely find something to entertain after the famous attack scene. Drone in honor of the son. And remember acting is a profession and a friend of crowned heads is much better off dusting off history and commenting on princely weddings.