I don't get the ending (spoiler thread)
Why does the bodygard kill the girl, and why does the lawyer take the rap? I have replayed it a couple of times but it is still opaque.
"I'm trying to think, but nothing happens" -Curly Howard
<<<Spoilers ahead>>>
Well, here is my take on it. The movie couldnt possible be telling that all girls from monaco are sluts or that they should be killed to protect lives of others. The character development till the time Christophe killed the girl was inadequate to justify his killing because of any reasons other than this.
Remember that Madam Lasalles case is not actually shown in the film and spotlight is on the lawyer all throughout. It could be bacause Madame lasalle and Bertrand were going through the same kind of situations in life. Madam was a calm and serene lady who thought she was missing somehting till she fell in love with the russian guy from the bar. This russian was also having an affair with Madam lasalles son. Ofcourse the russian was good with both as he was only looking for 'higher prosperities ' in life. Madam Lasalles son tried to stop the russian from getting too close with madam and thereby spoiling her. Remember he says to Bertrand "save my mom from herself".
Now fast forward to our lawyer Bertrand's life. Bertrand is the new madam lasalle. Son's position is taken by Christophe and russian looking for chances is the girl from monaco , Audrey. Like louis lasalle tried to save his mother, christophe too warns bertrand to keep away from the girl to protect himself. but just like edith lasalle was finding new dreams fulfilled and fast life with the russian, bertrand too was in a state of ecstasty and couldnt stop himself. at this time he could understand madam lasalles case very well because he was also in the same state as she was some time back.
If what I understood is correct, it as not madam lasalle that killed the russian but luois lasalle, her son. he did it to protect his mom and himself from the wildlife. christophe did the same thing. in the last scene in police station, bertrand realises why christophe killed audrey, the exact same reason as louis killing russian. bertrand could save himself and christophe if he wanted to, but he chose to surrender and spend his time in jail , exactly like madame lasalle. because both of them thought that they are guilty for going uncontrolled and unable to protect themselves at that age and maturity evenwhen people who likes them had warned. edith lasalle and bertrand share a smile at the end , I believe to prove this point. now they both understand each other very well.
I like adwaithmenon's answer... but I have a slightly alternate take.
Christophe could see that if Audrey went with Bertrand to Paris, it would mean the end of his Bertrand's. She would mess around with him, embarrass him; his career would fall apart, in the *best case* there'd be a nasty divorce and Bertrand would be left miserable for the rest of his life. Christophe sees that Audrey is, symbolically, going to murder his friend and protectee. So, he does the only thing he can think of: he kills her in Bertrand's defense. In his eyes, it's a just act.
Bertrand realizes all this. He has the means to free them both, as adwaithmenon points out, but doesn't, partly because he feels guilty for letting things get so out of hand, but also partly because he hasn't lost his marbles yet; he knows that a murder has been committed, and that court's don't give passes for well-meaning symbolism. Unlike Christophe, he's old school, he's a philosopher, he thinks about things. But since Christophe doesn't, that makes him an innocent of sorts in his eyes, and innocents by definition aren't murderers. So he can't let Christophe take the blame.
The whole "one year later" sequence was unnecessary, though. They had the perfect ending with the fade-out, but threw it away for a sappy "don't worry, Bertrand's found contentment" coda. Lame.
Lame.To the max! All a contrivance to draw a parallel between the Lassalle case and outcome and Bertrand and Christophe's relationship. Yawn!🐭 share
The girl gets killed by the bodyguard because the writer wanted to turn it from a rather humorous comedy into a much darker drama piece playing with the idea of what justice is. Basically though an innocent girl is killed because an old man isn't mature enough to deal with his own relationship problem.
I thought it was a bad move. Should have stuck with light-hearted comedy. The writer was very capable, it could have developed into a comedy climax rather than taken the drama twist. A nervous breakdown scene in the courtroom brought on by Audrey could have been fun.