This latest work from the masterful and indefatigable Claude Chabrol (Le Beau Serge, A Girl Cut in Two) is a droll detective tale revolving around a vacationing Paris police commissioner, the titular Paul Bellamy (a custom-made role for Gérard Depardieu, in his first collaboration with the popular nouvelle vague auteur). Bored with idle time and locals in the South of France, Bellamy can’t resist investigating a suspicious death brought to his attention by a man (Jacques Gamblin) with a wife, a mistress and involvement in an insurance scam, whom Bellamy thinks might also be a murderer. Meanwhile, Bellamy’s constant devotion to wife Françoise (an enchanting Marie Bunel) is matched only by his persistent sibling rivalry with his volatile brother Jacques (Clovis Cornillac). A witty, reference-laden homage to Belgian crime writer Georges Simenon’s prolific series of Jules Maigret detective stories, Bellamy is a dialogue-driven caper and character study riding high not on nostalgia as much as a classic esprit.

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Written by Claude Chabrol, Odile Barski. Photographed by Eduardo Serra. With Gérard Depardieu, Jacques Gamblin, Marie Bunel, Clovis Cornillac, Vahina Giocante, Adrienne Pauly. (106 min, IFC Films)