Sean Tayler’s review published on Letterboxd:
Maïwenn’s gripping and atmospheric Polisse follows a photographer assigned to the Parisian Child Protection Unit (CPU). As the photographer - Maïwenn in a stilted, but realistically so performance - develops relationships with the police, they are forced to confront the camera’s scrutinising eye.
As a procedural, almost observational drama, Polisse thrusts you into the professional and personal lives of several officers, and several cases that emergence throughout the film. Not all of these plots are even wrapped up in the film, leaving you with the same feelings as the characters, as their days bleed into one another.
Marina Foïs (The Beasts), Nicolas Duvauchelle (White Material), and French rapper JoeyStarr give the most heartfelt performances in the film. Their committed performances, along with brilliant cinematography gives the film a cinéma vérité sensibility. The cases in the Polisse are allegedly all based on real cases, which makes the traumatic events even more haunting.
There is a central romance and some outbusts that do remind you that Polisse is dramatised, however the hothouse environment of Paris’ police force is enough to explain away the script’s occasional plot conveniences.
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_4891f40d-4b4b-4a32-aff2-cedc0dd029dc" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-4891f40d-4b4b-4a32-aff2-cedc0dd029dc'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-4891f40d-4b4b-4a32-aff2-cedc0dd029dc'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-4891f40d-4b4b-4a32-aff2-cedc0dd029dc'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_4bc1780e-c945-4baa-a14e-d18d7093f27a" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-4bc1780e-c945-4baa-a14e-d18d7093f27a'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-4bc1780e-c945-4baa-a14e-d18d7093f27a'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-4bc1780e-c945-4baa-a14e-d18d7093f27a'));
