Lino Ventura of all the great French actors never ceases to amaze. He's not the type who one would expect to be an intellectual's actor. He showed glimmers of this cerebral quality in his early film Marie October probably because of his stage experience. The general public may perceive him as the gangster or the heavy but this film is all about a man thinking. Not an easy task for an actor or director. Here it comes off perfectly and keeps the viewer absorbed and on edge waiting for a climax that hits like an off-speed pitch. Schneider is poignant and maturing into another Signoret if she didn't pass away at such a young age. Michel Serrault as an unwholesome protagonist never becomes a cliche and provides complexity to the detective's doubts and beliefs. Bravo!
Review of The Grilling
