Dead on the Beach, released in 2018, offered Claire Chazal her very first role as an actress. A transformed try?
Dead man on the beacha police television film released in 2018 and notably supported by Claire Chazalwas rescheduled for Thursday, November 21 on France 3. The fiction relates a mysterious murder that occurred on Omaha Beach, known to be one of the emblematic sites of the 1944 Landings, in Normandy. James Crowley, a 91-year-old American veteran who fought in the battle, is found dead, shot and dressed in his old military uniform. And the investigation, led by Captain Éloïse Gentil, will prove more complex than it seems.
If the detective scenario is agreed, the viewers’ curiosity for Dead man on the beach will certainly come from the performance of the former TF1 news star in one of the secondary roles. Claire Chazal here slipped into the shoes of Évelyne Leroy-Duval, the mayor of the Norman village shaken by this crime. Accustomed to questioning politicians, the famous journalist therefore became one for the duration of a shoot, with “exaltation, passion and pleasure”, as she indicated to the press at the time. All with a disconcerting naturalness for some and a slightly awkward performance for others…
Long waits
His confrontations with Captain Gentil, played by Claire Borotra, will try to add a little intensity to the scenario, but it must be admitted that Chazal manages with difficulty to light up the small screen in the role of this beleaguered councilor, forced to compose with this terrible tragedy and to face the weight of history. The presence of the journalist was limited to only 4 scenes and you have to wait until the 37th minute to discover her. Enough to reinforce the suspense and the expectations of the viewers, but above all to make it difficult to compare with the confirmed “mouths” of the casting like Jean-François Balmer or Michel Jonasz, who spent a long time from music to TV films.
Dead man on the beach at least benefited from the presence of Claire Chazal on one point: during its first broadcast in 2018, the audience for the TV film had exceeded 5 million viewers. A good habit that the “Meurtes à…” saga has also preserved with stars regularly invited to elucidate crimes in the four corners of the country, from Stéphane Bern to Jean-Pierre Foucault. In short, a media as well as artistic added value.