Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
1970 · Directed by Elio Petri
Original language: Italian
- drama
- thriller
The story
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.
What it’s like
Stark modernist interiors in bold primary colors, sharp tracking shots down sterile corridors, and a jaunty, jangling Ennio Morricone score that undercuts every menacing scene, all give this 1970 Roman satire a feverish, mocking surface. Its vibe is brittle absurdism: black humor and clinical dread sitting side by side. The pacing is brisk and theatrical, built on shifting power games in offices, apartments and interrogation rooms, and its central figure, a powerful police chief, is watched in his arrogance and his unraveling as the story pulls him toward self-exposure. The intensity is high and uncomfortable: police brutality and interrogation are shown directly, and there are explicit sexual sadism and masochism scenes that are disturbing rather than titillating, with some graphic nudity. Violence is sudden and not gory, but it lands hard. This suits a late-night, alone viewing for people drawn to political thrillers, Kafkaesque bureaucracy, and sharp social satire, and it is not a fit for anyone wanting something gentle or light.
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