Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Don't Believe the Hype

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

After reading all these glowing praise filled reviews, I kind of feel like either I'm not very bright or I must have missed something.Don't get me wrong, the idea for the film is clever. I think though what it is about the movie that leaves me somewhat dissatisfied is, as another reviewer here mentioned, that it comes across as very one dimensional and one-note in it's presentation.People here are saying 'This is the greatest of Italian Cinema'... Well, I can immediately think of at least 10 Italian films right off the top that I like a HELL of a lot better than this one. There are some truly Classic Italian Gialli to die for, but that's just me... I guess I must apparently be missing something. Like many other reviewers here, I KNOW that the point of the film is that in a kind of Kafka-esque way the highly placed bureaucrat CANNOT get himself caught even though he is compelled to tell his men to 'do their job!' Thus the clear title of the film. And, as also mentioned here, I KNOW it is about the Fascism of the state, etc... So, the premise itself is indeed quite novel and interesting.I don't know... I just didn't really find it that entertaining personally. I thought what it was trying to get across was a good point, but EXTREMELY simple and not really that interesting, at least to me. And the soundtrack... EVERYONE is just about foaming at the mouth at how this is the BEST Morricone score EVER! Well, I don't see it. That annoying spring 'Boing' sound every frigg'n 20 seconds gets VERY, VERY old after a while. I found it annoying and not at all likable or 'Brilliant', sorry...And, although the performance of the lead character was excellent and he obviously did an outstanding job in his role, still, overall, I just couldn't get into the film at any level. There was nothing special I felt about the screenplay or dialog that was clever or memorable; I didn't find the overall plot or story that interesting, although the idea itself was rather unique and possibly COULD have been much more involving. It just came across to me like the same note being played over and over and over...It appears that in this case, just about every one else here is at odds with me about this movie, but what I primarily look for is whether a film is ENJOYABLE & ENTERTAINING; I'm afraid that I just don't feel that this was the case here. When I review films, I put that particular parameter FIRST above all others; in other words, no matter what the genre or even whether I particularly like it or not, I try to put myself in the place of the average movie-goer (or movie lover) and try to determine firstly if the film was truly entertaining or engaging in any way. And, after 2 long hours of this one, I just felt that I really wish I had chosen something else to watch...I admit, I may very well be missing the point of this movie. OR... possibly the particular style in which this film was made just simply doesn't resonate with me personally. So, the honest recommendation from me would be to suggest that you read numerous detailed reviews here to get a better overall picture of WHY many here DO like this movie and then judge for yourselves. But, I just wanted to include my personal take on it in case there are others who might possibly have a similar reaction to this film that I did...

Our Hero knocks off his girl friend almost immediately as he is promoted to Police Commissioner. But it was not to celebrate his promotion - he is trying to see if he can get caught, or if he is now, in fact, above suspicion. Hedging his bets, he spends a great deal of time covering his tracks in his effort to get caught/not get caught.Gian Maria Volonte gives a hypnotic performance as the Ego Cop. Strutting and preening, he is in nearly every scene as he barks at subordinates and, in flashbacks, engages in sex with his soon-to-be-dead girlfriend, who, by the way, is a knockout. Seemed like a terrible waste of feminine pulchritude, to borrow a phrase from W.C. Fields.The pacing is good and director Elio Petri keeps the action moving at a good clip. Speaking for myself, I thought the picture hit a few false notes in the character makeup of its hero. For a man convinced he is in the clear he turns cowardly and abject when confronted by the only one who could be a witness against him - this, from a macho Alpha male? I also thought it was interesting to note the counterpoint and the hypocrisy in the theme of Democracy as an ideal, as opposed to its practical application throughout the story. Do as we say, not as we do.Good picture, but as I often think, another foreign film that has been overrated by critics and audiences trying not to appear unsophisticated, and that has now achieved cult status after winning an Oscar.

There is an epilogue, appropriately enough from Kafka, because this is the story of a bureaucrat who is highly placed in the police hierarchy and can't seem to convince anyone that he's committed the murder of a whore he was having a relationship with. And in the end the family nonchalantly sweeps out the dead bug.Gian Maria Volonte is the recently promoted head of the homicide squad. At first I thought his performance was stereotypical. He struts around with a smirk, shouts orders, demands that the espresso coffee machine be removed, pursues and uses enhanced interrogation on demonstrators, communists, socialists, homosexuals, and kids with long hair. (This is 1970.) The hooker he's boffing turns out to be a police buff and loves to be "interrogated" harshly by Volonte. He makes her kneel, slaps her about, and talks her into revealing her most shameful secrets.But then, whimsically, she throws him over for someone else, claiming that he's not manly enough for her, that he's a baby who probably still wets the bed -- so he cuts her throat. He deliberately leaves clues to his identity all over the crime scene.So far, so routine. He's so ridden with guilt over his actions that he wants to be caught. In addition he's a stern representative of oppressive power hectoring the young. We've seen this before.But at about the half way mark things begin to get a little screwy. His colleagues believe that since he is a man of such prestige and power, all the clues must be coincidental and misleading, even the most obvious. When his prints are found on a liqueur glass, a subordinate "remembers" Volante taking a drink to calm his nerves. For what it's worth, this is called "normalization" in sociology, a process in which incidents that don't quite fit the expected narrative are reinterpreted in such a way that they do.As the story progresses Volonte's efforts to inculpate himself become more frenzied. He dismisses others who might be obvious suspects. He reveals himself as the murderer to a frightened plumber. Nothing works.By the end, he's confessed openly to his superiors and then gone home to await arrest. A dozen big wigs arrive and tear up the evidence, claiming that he must be neurotic because he's worked too hard. That scene seems to have taken place only in Volonte's imagination because eventually the same big wigs really DO arrive -- or seem to -- and he joins them in the lobby, presses a button, and an elevator we never knew was there begins to lift them all silently to an upper story. It's a surreal departure from the relatively realistic plot that we've been following.I found it a little annoying at times. I understand Volonte's role calls for bombast but, Cripes, what a lot of close ups of shouting faces. Everybody shouts at everybody else. Everybody walks quickly. It's exhausting to watch and listen to, except that Ennio Morricone's musical score is both subtle and apt. The first two thirds would have made a good B feature in Hollywood back in the 40s. That last third -- well, make of it what you will.

"Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sopetto" ("Investigation of a citizen above suspicion") is a surrealistic police-story directed by the Italian film-maker Elio Petri in 1970 . A very original screenplay tells us the story of a respected police inspector who commits a crime and deliberately leaves clues just to find out how big is his reputation of "a citizen above suspicion" . The theme is developed from this single event and becomes an intelligent and provocative reflection about the concepts of authority and institution . While some could wrongly see this movie as a left-wing political one because of the way it depicts police authorities' excessive power , It is really only a fair illustration denouncing the impotence of institutions of making an impartial investigation about their own mistakes . The main theme of the movie rises up a brilliant and paradoxical question : how can the organs which administrate the "Law" condemn themselves without risking their own collapse and negation ? To this question the movie answers with the pessimistic vision that a real justice is an utopia because of human-beings' weaknesses and self-preservative nature . This brilliant reflection is developed in an highly entertaining and smoothly constructed satirical police-story : in fact the movie has an overwhelming "funny" tone especially thanks to Gian Maria Volonte' superb acting in the main role of the "fascistoid" police inspector . The ending will surprise you with the way it reveals the surrealistic nature of the whole topic . Even if this movie was highly awarded and acclaimed at its time , (1 Oscar for Best foreign film , 1 Nomination for Best original screenplay , won Grand Prize of the Jury and Golden Palm nomination at Cannes Films Festival , 1 Golden globe nomination ) at the present days it has been criminally forgotten . I can only add that I personally consider it one of the best Italian films ever made and one of the most provocative police-stories in the last 40 years . Unfortunately it suffers of a very poor international distribution so , unless you live in Italy , it won't be easy for you to find this movie . But it doesn't matter how hard it will be , it will be worth it .