the audience applauded

Don't Believe the Hype

Blistering performances.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

First off, I must say that I've been an avid fan of British television detectives for many years .. starting with the wondrous (Granada Television) Sherlock Holmes mysteries. As I watched Rowan Atkinson in this episode of the new Maigret series, I was brought back to those days. Though the mysteries take place in Paris, and Maigret is French, I personally have no qualms about the production. To be honest, the thing that irritates me about the great Poirot series with David Suchet, is the fact that his accent is so thick, I cannot understand the dialogue sometimes. With this series, I don't have this problem whatsoever, and that is refreshing. The direction of these Maigret episodes is quite superb, and I quickly become absorbed into the story lines. More than anything else, I am most impressed with the casting of Rowan Atkinson as the lead. As a dramatic actor, his portrayal of Maigret is stunning. His steadfast calm, and confidence in good old-fashioned police work knits the cast together in each episode. He trusts no one, and lets the evidence lead where it leads. This "Crossroads" episode is the best so far, and I am really hoping they continue more of them. I'll be waiting with a bowl of buttered popcorn, knowing I won't be disappointed in any part of the show. Great stuff indeed !! .

I was giving up on a good British mystery being made ever again. The BBC stole the rights to Agatha Chriostie from ITV, and left the pretty good Marple series unfinished. Instead we had the foulness of the new Partners in Crime, where we have no mystery, a plot so stupid that you end up wanting to yell at the TV set, horrid acting, and the lead female character acting like she has her period the entire time on screen. Then we have the reanimated George Gently series, which I stopped watching after Detective Gently rolled his eyes when a witness said that world war two veterans were heroes. That turned me off completely. We have Father Brown, where you can guess who the murderer is, because they are always the most respectable and British person around....like I said; All garbage. I thought I was just going to have to keep on re watching Poirot with David Suchet, and Marple series with Julia McKenzie forever if i wanted to see a good mystery. But NO! Here we have the genuine thing! Well acted. Not slavishly similar to the novels, but a good synergistic mix of new and old. A real interesting mystery which I did not guess, and also real fleshed out characters. I want MORE!!!

I'll be honest, the first two offerings I wasn't exactly full of praise for, but this third offering has very much changed my opinion. Everything feels settled, solid and somehow familiar. I now feel used to the concept of Rowan Atkinson as Maigret, and I feel he himself is now more comfortable in the role. Night at the Crossroads isn't my favourite story, but as a production it came to life, the performances were first rate, Thomas Wlaschiha stole the show for me, as he so often does, but he was fantastic, so diverse an actor. Lucy Cohu I still think is a joy as Maigret's wife. The only criticism I had was the performance of Kevin McNally, who's Grandjean was a little too much, somehow it seemed like he over-relished his role of villain, and was a little hammy.Great production values, this episode I feel has turned the series around, I now cannot wait for the next episode. A very solid 8/10

This is the latest ITV Maigret feature film starring Rowan Atkinson as Maigret. It is based on a novel by Simenon entitled LA NUIT DU CARREFOUR (THE NIGHT OF THE CROSSROADS), which has an interesting cinematic history. It was the very first Simenon novel ever to be filmed, and of course the first Maigret film, in 1932. That was directed by Jean Renoir, and it was a dreary and inept film which was frankly a complete failure (NIGHT AT THE CROSSROADS, 1932, see my review). The novel was more successfully filmed again in 1992 as an episode in the French Maigret series starring Bruno Cremer. However, this new film of the novel is even better, and is a complete success. It is absolutely superb. Atkinson has achieved perfection now in his portrayal of Maigret, and together with that fact, the script by Stewart Harcourt and the direction by Sarah Harding have turned out a spectacular example of drama for ITV, of which everyone can justly be proud. Tom Wlaschiha does a particularly excellent job of portraying the mysterious and tormented character of the Dane who calls himself Andersen, and Mia Jexen does an excellent job also as his equally mysterious 'sister' Else. I would say that Kevin McNally slightly over-acted as Inspector Grandjean, thereby letting us know too early that Grandjean was a 'baddie'. That all could have been done much more subtly, and not telegraphed, and the director should have given him better direction and told him to tone it down. Katherine Kanter did very well as Sarah Goldberg, a part which required a great deal of poise to make up for very little dialogue. I think I should also specially mention Wanda Opalinska, who played the minor character of Jojo, and who might normally not get mentioned in a review. She added a great deal to her small part, using her own wits and instincts, and correctly judging just the right level of suspicious glances and nervous reactions. The production design and music were excellent, as was the case with the previous films in this series. We have really terrific drama here, and let us hope they go on and on.