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Police

Name: Police
Director: Maurice Pialat
Released: 1985
Duration: 113 min

Representation Score

4.6/10

Fair

1985

Director

Maurice Pialat

Runtime

113 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Maurice Pialat’s *Police* is a gritty exploration of human instability rather than a conventional crime drama. It dismantles social hierarchies and traditional moral archetypes, focusing on emotional frailty. While the film lacks broad demographic representation, particularly regarding LGBTQ+ and disability issues, it excels in its refusal to offer simple ethical solutions. The narrative emphasizes situational ethics over predictable redemption arcs. Ultimately, the film's diversity lies in its psychological complexity rather than its cast composition.

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Category Breakdown

Does Police have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film operates within a framework that assumes everyone is straight or cisgender. There are no representations of same-sex relationships or non-cisgender identities.

How does Police portray gender?

Fair

Female characters such as Noria play a significant role in driving the plot through manipulation and theft. The male lead is portrayed as emotionally unstable and unpredictable, challenging traditional masculinity.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Police?

Fair

A subplot involving Tunisian brothers adds ethnic complexity to the setting. However, these characters are largely confined to the criminal underworld, limiting their influence on the main storyline.

How does Police represent religion and culture?

Good

The film critiques social structures by embracing moral relativism, showing the breakdown of the nuclear family and institutional authority without moral condemnation.

Does Police include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no prominent depictions of visible or invisible disabilities that serve as central narrative elements.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional masculinity by depicting the male lead as emotionally unstable and unpredictable.
Gives female characters significant roles through complex and manipulative plot drivers.
Uses moral relativism to avoid predictable redemptive storylines.

Limited or Absent

Does not include representations of LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisgender gender expressions.
Positions characters of color primarily within the criminal underworld.
Lacks visible or invisible disability representation within the central narrative.

Official Synopsis

Mangin, a police inspector in Paris, leans hard on informants to get evidence on three Tunisian brothers who traffic in drugs. He arrests one, Simon, and his girl-friend Noria. Simon's brothers go to their lawyer. He springs Noria, who promptly steals 2 million francs that belong to the Tunisians. They suspect her of the theft; her life as well as the lawyer's is in danger. Meanwhile, Noria is playing with both the lawyer and Mangin's affections. Mangin is mercurial anyway: intimidating and bloodying suspects, falling for a police commission trainee before flipping for Noria, wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Can he save the lawyer and Noria, and can he convince her to love?

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