Jean-Paul Belmondo is on trial for trying to kill Pierre Saintons, the military dictator of an African country. He won't say who hired him, he's heavily drugged, and eventually he is sent to prison. Two years later, he escapes and returns to Paris to take another crack at the job; his former colleagues in the French Secret Service, who sold him out when the political winds changed, try to stop him.
It's one of those roles in which Belmondo does things, which is what made him so attractive as a New Wave anti-hero. He's still playing the anti-hero, of course, but there are no heroes, just middle-aged bureaucrats, thugs , and beautiful women. He lets you see the years and weariness creep up on him, particularly in the scenes with Michel Beaune. Mostly, though, he is what the title of the movie suggests, a thorough professional, who takes well-calculated risks that confound the people who try to stop him; they are worried about their jobs, their futures, their remaining ideals of right and wrong, and utility. He's just doing a job, and if he survives, well and good, and if not..... well, that was a possibility all along.
It's one of those roles in which Belmondo does things, which is what made him so attractive as a New Wave anti-hero. He's still playing the anti-hero, of course, but there are no heroes, just middle-aged bureaucrats, thugs , and beautiful women. He lets you see the years and weariness creep up on him, particularly in the scenes with Michel Beaune. Mostly, though, he is what the title of the movie suggests, a thorough professional, who takes well-calculated risks that confound the people who try to stop him; they are worried about their jobs, their futures, their remaining ideals of right and wrong, and utility. He's just doing a job, and if he survives, well and good, and if not..... well, that was a possibility all along.