Bazaar (Murder in the Building)

In this charming Paris-set Hitchcock homage, a crime writer and his film professor partner are swept up in a real-life mystery when they begin to suspect their neighbour of murder. A fleet-footed genre mashup blending screwball energy, knowing humour and nostalgic thrills to delightful effect.

Misanthropic novelist François (Gilles Lellouche) writes gripping crime stories – “Agatha Christie meets The Scarlet Pimpernel” – but outside of the swashbuckling imaginary world of his Marquis la Rose-novels, life is far from thrilling. His partner Colette (Laetitia Casta), a professor at the Sorbonne and world-renowned expert on Alfred Hitchcock, is tired of watching François sit around their apartment in his pyjamas and yearns for the excitement of the classic films she watches with her students. When Colette begins to suspect their flamboyant actor neighbour (Guillaume Gallienne) of murdering his wife, the couple’s mundane lives are turned upside down – and their stale relationship is jolted back to life.

Rémi Bezançon’s charming comedy thriller offers a playful update of Rear Window (1954) relocated to contemporary Paris, built around two delightfully knowing performances from Lellouche and Casta, as a middle-aged couple in a rut who find themselves swept up in a dangerous mystery. Packed with meta-jokes and ingenious movie references, Bazaar is a real crowd-pleaser, brimming with old-school romantic charm.

– Rachel Pronger

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