Acorn TV's 'Cannes Confidential' is a Festival of Fun

Acorn TV’s glossy new production, Cannes Confidential, arrives billed as having “unprecedented access to the city” and “the first English language show filmed in the Cote d’Azur since the 1970s.” However, it doesn’t quite succeed in its lofty aspirations of showing Cannes' grit and glamour. Writer Chris Murray (Midsomer Murders) and Director Camille Delamarre (Into The Night) fall back mainly on the rarified world of the uber-rich to create a tidy, sometimes witty, dramatic escapist drama.

As Ol’ Blue Eyes croons, “The Best is Yet To Come,” and the camera swoops over the brilliant blue sea and the hundreds of millionaires’ moored yachts, it’s pretty clear what we’ll be watching. Yet, somehow the series manages to have a cozy feel, with its format of relatively simple storylines, ranging from the credible to the wacko, each wrapped up tidily per episode. But heck, yes, we want to see those glamorous swimming pools and villas and casinos and the (mostly) beautiful people who inhabit them.

The romantic storyline between dedicated police officer Camille Delmasse (Lucie Lucas) and elusive conman Harry King (Jamie Bamber) threatens a never-ending cycle of bickering, flirting, and innuendo. However, Camille also has another unresolved relationship with her sidekick Léa Robert (Tamara Marthe, aka Shy’m), who, with a significant and possibly reciprocal crush on her boss, is furiously jealous of Harry’s involvement in their lives and work.

Harry, as we are reminded in frequent bare-chested dreams/flashbacks, is on a quest to find his kidnapped daughter Emilie (Ava Griffith), which makes him someone to root for. That’s why he’s in Cannes, where his daughter now lives, and it also just happens to have rich pickings for someone with a criminal bent is, well, a happy coincidence. Soon after her first encounter with Harry, Camille discovers a handful of forged passports in his yacht, which she pockets in exchange for his help clearing her father’s name. She is convinced that his background will include links to underground players and, more important, that they’ll trust him as one of their own. 

Camille’s father, Philippe Delmasse (Jean-Hugues Anglade), former chief of police, is imprisoned on suspicion of police corruption charges. He won’t talk to Camille, afraid his enemies will target her. Neither will he try to resolve his innocence, fearing for his family’s lives, as well as his own, if he’s released. Oddly, Camille’s department has not delegated her to paperwork, although her boss does suggest that she takes some leave; meanwhile, she and Léa roam free seeking out criminals with the help of another cliched sidekick, departmental geek Ramzy Chabat (Sammy Lechea).

Camille and Léa perform many of the standard kick-ass girl-cop moves, chasing down baddies, road chases, and unnecessarily complex hand-to-hand combat (Knock him down and get the handcuffs on him already!). Camille drives a flashy vintage sports car, and it’s stick-shift! Clearly, she has the right stuff. It’s done competently, but it has an old-fashioned feel, as does the dialogue, which is entirely innocent of subtitles. Everyone, including announcers at the local radio station, speaks French-accented English even when no English people are present, and even texts in English. (See: Things You Would Never Know Without Movies.)

To give the creators credit, the series premiere, “Death of a Jester,” attempts to bridge the gap between classes. A beloved street artist, Vincent Devilly (Nicolas Bonnefoi), is murdered over a controversy about the local community center, which a developer plans to turn into a state-of-the-art concert venue, removing a valuable resource for the ordinary folk. When Camille arrives to interview the artist’s wealthy sister Delphine Devilly (Sara Mortensen), she finds (surprise!) Harry is serving drinks poolside, making himself useful and decorative. However, he is instrumental in discovering Vincent intended to make a dramatic gesture to save the community center, which is why he was killed.

On the other hand, the only mention of Cannes’ fishing community doesn’t occur until a later installment (Episode 3, “A Clear Conscience”), in connection with a murder case at a monastery, tied into a smuggling ring, with a lowly museum employee involved. However, Episode 4’s “The Deadlier Species” sees Camille delivers a passionate defense of the city's culture when Harry dismisses her younger sister Margaux (Anna Franziska Jaeger) as “so Cannes.” Camille defends her sister, her family, and Cannes itself, her beloved hometown where she’s lived all her life. Of course, she’s standing in the doorway to the hotel kitchens, and behind her, the staff listen, enthralled, and burst into applause.

Unlike her serious big sister, Margaux enjoys a very active social life, but that doesn't mean she's useless. In fact, her connections to the social scene turn out to be very handy. For example, the final episode pays tribute to the Film Festival, but mostly from a behind-the-scenes perspective, when a goody bag delivered to a celebrated actor is found to contain poisoned items. But it's Margaux's photos from a night clubbing that help solve the crime.

If you — or Camille or Léa — had to choose one word to describe Harry, it might well be annoying, and it comes up frequently. To his credit, Harry has looks and charm, cleans up nicely, and can ingratiate himself into any social situation. His poker skills, which encompass reading the other players’ weaknesses and their hands (and cheating, which goes without saying), help Camille solve cases. But though he keeps Camille’s interest despite his confusion of charm with English dithering, he isn’t much use in situations where his life is threatened, and he has to rely on Camille and Lea to rescue him. He’s also given to whimpering at Camille’s driving.

As the series goes on, Harry and Camille’s relationship enters the forced-proximity phase when assigned the rose petal–infested honeymoon suite at a hotel where she is to protect a billionaire arms dealer’s birthday party. The arms dealer (a kinder, gentler character than you might think) received a threat from assassin Nightshade, out of the picture for fifteen years, and presumed dead, hence the police interest. Harry gives Camille a gown for the festivities in a Cinderella moment; presumably, she packed her high heels and black lace thigh holster.

Despite how irritating he seems, the two work well together. In one memorable scene, Camille rushes down a staircase to pursue the villain, who is masquerading as a hotel employee, only to have Harry, exiting an elevator, stick out his foot, foiling the escape with well-timed slapstick. It’s an excellent example of how Camille and Harry’s personalities and styles mesh. As for the sexual tension between him and Camille, it fizzes like carelessly opened champagne until Harry (usually) backs down, quenching the passion with a quip.

Léa, jealous and hurt Camille let an interloper into their tight twosome, considers a promotion she’s offered in Paris. Camille realizes as the series progresses that she has a stronger emotional bond with Léa than she admits, especially when a later case features a female victim with whom Léa had been involved, and her grief makes the case difficult. 

It’s good, entertaining, summer fun despite its flaws and idiosyncrasies, with great pacing and storytelling, and you’ll find yourself rooting for Camille and Léa, and possibly for Harry too. Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets, s’il vous plait — can we expect a second season?

Cannes Confidential premieres on Acorn TV on Monday, June 26, 2023, with the first two episodes and continues with two new episodes weekly through July 10.