Our review of the Marianne series on France 2

France 2 presents you Marianne, or the legal tribulations of Judge Vauban, magistrate at the Toulon court. A sagacious, humane, honest, frontal woman, a fanatic of creamy pastries, shady melodies and her… ferret.

Excellent cast

A Marianne perhaps very distantly inspired by a certain allegorical figure, symbol of democracy and freedom, but also by the Belgian Anne Gruwez, to whom Jean Libon, creator of the cult show “Strip-Tease”, devoted in 2017 the documentary Neither judge nor submissive. Supported by a taciturn police captain, by a shy clerk looking like an archivist and by a gifted pathologist, she conducts each investigation with the same care, sometimes distanced, amused or serious, even a bit facetious.

So go the six episodes of season 1 of this new fiction, a dyed-in-the-wool detective comedy, embodied by an atypical female heroine, herself accompanied by a picturesque gallery of characters. Certainly not the thriller of the year. At the very least a good level entertainment. In that it meets the codes of the classic detective series as well as the criteria in vogue of the moment, closer to the American series of the 1970s à la Columbo than to those of the 2000s à la Criminal Minds. The tone is light. The crime scenes are discreet. Criminals are neither child killers nor psychopaths. The trajectories of each are drawn. The puns are raining. Some dialogues and situations are funny. People are smiling. And the cast is excellent.

Not gnanan for two pennies

In the lead, Marilou Berry, acclaimed since Mon ange and the French version of This is Us, who plays the game with obvious pleasure. “I immediately liked the way she looks at the world and her totally assumed gourmet and unbridled side”, assures the actress. It is a successful counterpoint to Captain Marleau, whose original character, lack of manners, mocking banter and class struggle side eventually bored the public. It is also the proof that one can stage otherness without knocking out the bourgeois and posting oneself upwind on roundabouts.

This new heroine nevertheless addresses some of the major current social issues, such as precariousness, violence against women, the right to be different, child protection, respect for identities. The icing on the chocolate éclair – the lady’s favorite cake – she’s not cheap for two cents.

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