Olivier Marchal, black is S
The productions follow one another and are similar for Olivier Marchal. So much so that his work begins to take on the character of an encyclopedic volume dedicated to a single word of the letter “P”, “P” as “Police“. Actor and director specializing in the profession he practiced between 1980 and 1994, obsessed with his reality and his fictions, the feature film exemplary of his approach will always remain 36 Quai des Goldsmiths (2004) – although he personally prefers it MR 73 – and its flagship series Braquowhich he created in 2009. For 2023 he therefore has a new creation, co-signed with Kamel Guemra, which is entitled Peace Massilia and develops a violent police intrigue in the criminal world of Marseille.
As in Overdosebroadcast in 2022 on Prime Video and after producing Bronx for Netflix in 2020, which already took place in Marseille, Olivier Marchal brings out the weapons, the big machines and the characters in tension, “mouths” violently confronted with the crime who have to manage the constant drama that is their daily life as a policeman, with his very frequent shootingsand their personal issues, which are often related.
Drugs, score settling and ultraviolence in Marseille
Affected in some of its neighborhoods by a major crime linked to drug trafficking, Marseille regularly makes the news for the tireless settling of scores. It is at the heart of this phenomenon that Peace Massilia takes place. In the opening, a boss, Franck Murillo (Nicolas Duvauchelle), violently escapes during his son’s funeral and returns to Marseille. take revenge on those responsible for his death. They are in charge of the main supply and distribution network of Marseille drug trafficking. And Lyès, head of the special anti-drug unit responsible for stopping trafficking and violence, has a past with their leader.
The scenario is not very original, with its policemen as well-intentioned as real criminals, not afraid of a penny but easily fallible, and its ultraviolent criminals who have only money as their goal. Lyès has to face several fronts: above all the gang war, which he must put an end to, but also protect his group from the IGPN policeman who has arrived to investigate his methods. And finally protect himself, himself and his troubled past that he shares with Ali Saïdi (Samir Boitard), billionaire traffic boss in Marseille. This is one of the interesting lines of the general plot: having to face different drugs, different threats, different networks, the police “negotiates” with some criminals, to at least buy social peace if not to stem the trafficking…
Moreover, if the young Alice (Jeanne Goursaud), who has just arrived from Paris and is looking for her father’s murderer (a certain Franck Murillo…), brings a form of novelty into this story 100% Marchal., Peace Massilia it appears to be going too fast and then making a dive to the surface, like police cars regularly launched at full speed.
Yet Olivier Marchal, who takes sides as he pleases ultraviolent deaths, had the idea of showing some of the damage suffered by the civilian population, in particular the desperation of a mother, whose two children were murdered in the violent war between the two Marseille clans. Or the impact on children in working-class neighborhoods, for whom becoming delinquent would offer an easier future than staying on the straight and narrow. This is unfortunately too little, and we believe that respecting the codes and scenes of the detective drama in Olivier Marchal’s courageous and annoying version is the absolute priority. At the expense of development of the social and emotional reality of the characters.
A convincing casting
Peace Massilia it does not shine for the originality of its intrigues, nor for the clichéd representation of the criminal environment of the city of Marseille. But we can still note that Olivier Marchal has brought together an inclusive cast in his series talented members. First of all Tewfik Jallab, in one of the main roles, the head of the Lyès narcotics group. His charisma, his intensity and his darkness match his character perfectly. For the first time in Olivier Marchal’s universe, he is believable in the role of a determined and fundamentally good policeman, but whose righteousness remains uncertain.
Another talent, this time new to the French television scene: Jeanne Goursaud. The Franco-German actress fulfills the complex function of the group’s “news” and thus serves as a moral indicator of the group’s actions. She is Alice, a Parisian policewoman who also has a personal score to settle with one of the two main antagonists of Peace Massilia. For her first role in a French production, she seems to have adapted quite naturally to the codes of Olivier Marchal’s cinema. His character is one of the most interesting.
Furthermore, Olivier Marchal brought back some “faces” that he knows well, having already worked with them. Especially on the criminal side, with Nicolas Duvauchelle and Moussa Maaskri, or even Martial Bezot. On the detective side we find Olivier Barthélémy and, for a first collaboration, Florence Thomassin plays a character close to the one played by Catherine Marchal in MR 73.
In the end, if we don’t get bored watching Pax Massilia, we still have the feeling of going in circles, and also the feeling that its creators would have used graphic violence abundantly to hide a form of laziness for the rest. While there was undoubtedly more to say and better to do. Because if Olivier Marchal doesn’t have the virtuoso direction of Cédric Jimenez (BAC North) nor the effective and penetrating writing of Jérémie Guez (BRI), has a sufficiently complete profile and proven skills to obtain better results.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
