Is he above the law?

 A couple of days ago I decided to watch yet another Italian crime movie, this time Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), written and directed by Elio Petri.

I have to say first of all, that this is a super weird movie. What we have is a reversed murder mystery, in that we know who the killer is within five minutes of the movie starting. It's not even a spoiler for me to say that the killer is the head of the Homicide Division. He kills his mistress and then fluctuates between impeding the investigation and trying to get caught. His ultimate goal seems to be to discover whether he is above the law. That is the mystery.

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is less of a thriller and more of an experience. It's absurd, ridiculous, interesting and at times perplexing. What it isn't is boring, it's much too odd for that. It is also pretty hard to describe, as you can tell.

The main character, know only as Dottore (translated as Chief) is played by Gian Maria Volonté, who is perhaps best known for playing the main villain in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars more. Even knowing this I had a hard time recognizing him. In the Leone spaghetti westerns he is dirty and unshaven, here he is extremely well groomed. What all three roles have in common is the madness he portrays so well. Make no mistake, Dottore is nuts, but there is method to his madness. Through a series of flashbacks we get a glimpse of his mentality. His manias and insecurities. We also get to know his mistress and her foibles. It all leads up to a rather satisfying story all in all, but I'm not a huge fan of the ending.

In case you think I've watched some obscure unknown film, it won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film as well as the Grand Prize at Cannes amongst other awards. The New York Times called the film "a suspense melodrama with the moral concerns of angry satire”. I guess that is true but I feel like I'm missing a lot of social context as well as a lot of the historical background. What remains despite this is how horrifying a police officer can be when the system is broken. There is an old saying “Who watches the watchers?” and this movie demonstrates what happens when no one is watching the watchers. Citizens have no protection against a corrupt police force when they decide that you are guilty because you'll do. Quite terrifying and the real center of the film compared to a “who dunnit”.

Otherwise Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is a very accomplished film both technically and actor wise. It is well shot and many of the scenes are pure art. The music is by none other than Ennio Morricone and although it is a far cry from his masterful The Good, The Bad and The Ugly soundtrack it is both evocative and very good.

Do I recommend this film? Yes but with a reservation. If you are a omnivorous film buff or otherwise keen on Italian history of that time, then you are probably going to enjoy it. If you just want to relax and watch a cool movie, I'd say watch something else.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!