In that strange dimension denoted by the words "loosely based on real events", The Connection is a prequel to The French Connection. Cédric Jimenez' sleek, showy chronicle of the rise and fall of a Marseilles drug cartel during the 1970s pitches eager, newly appointed magistrate Pierre Michel (Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin) against the Corsican mob boss Gaëtan Zampa (Gilles Lellouche) and his heroin-running empire.
“Heroin is the scourge of our streets,” we are told in an opening fluffy of contemporaneous news reports and obligatory shots of Nixon. But no, the scourge of these streets is a debilitating case of Scorsesisms. There are worse things.
Visibly in thrall to the groovy-soundtracked, blink- eye rhythms of Casino, The Connection unfolds with heist- movie logic: every scene must cut to a more exciting scene. There is constant movement: the camera spins around the G-man looking contemplative, every stroll down a corridor is tracked or juddering from behind a shoulder and we skip gaily between shots of heroin being packaged, a motorcycle assassin's approach, and so on.
In a cross-cut too far, nail- biting scenes of Daddy on the job are juxtaposed with the magistrate’s cutsey-pie daughter playing Operation.
When The Connection isn't being Scorsese, it's being other crime movies: one henchman appears to have nicked all his furniture from the Alexander cottage in A Clockwork Orange, there are side-view mirror car-chases not unlike those in a similarly titled film by William Friedkin, and just when you think the film has already paid quite enough homage to Michael Mann's Heat, the magistrate and the kingpin meet midway through the film on top of a mountain.
When The Connection isn't being other crime movies, it's busy being Everymovie: a desk calendar is used to denote the passing of time and many characters are so stock you'll want use them in a recipe.
What’s the French for déjà vu?
But for all the familiarity – maybe because of it - The Connection makes for a pretty good flic-show provided you're after fun, not historical realism. Tech specs, particularly Sophie Reine's edits, are impressive. And Dujardin has enough charisma to ensure that the bad guys don't hog all the cool montages.
