There has been virtually no publicity or intense promotional campaign surrounding the miniseries. Paradise Motel. The six episodes are released Thursday on Videotron’s Club illico with (almost) a “do not disturb” poster, as if the broadcaster believed little or not in its chances of success.
Posted at 7:15 a.m.
However, the series bears the stamp of the talented director Sophie Deraspe (Black Beast, Antigone) and brings together a cast of gifted actors, including Nahéma Ricci, Stéphane Gagnon, Anick Lemay, Gildor Roy and Martin Dubreuil.
So why is no one signing up to receive this Paradise Motel ? First, because the summary does not sell this singular project very well: “a police investigation coupled with an investigation of the soul”. Nothing less. It’s hard to slip in Hi hello between a carbonara noodle recipe and an interview with Dominic Paquet. Go all out, Gino!
Also, because Paradise Motel turns out to be a bizarre work, not devoid of qualities, but strange all the same. To locate yourself, Paradise Motel stands at the intersection of Twin Peaks, Black Lake and a thriller by Andrée A. Michaud (prey, Buzzard).
It starts with a serious road accident, which almost kills the bartender Jen Paradis (Nahéma Ricci). During her brief stay in the famous tunnel leading to the light, the famous imminent death experience, Jen sees her little sister Noémie, who killed herself three years ago.
When she wakes up, Jen does not budge: her sister Noémie (Vivi-Anne Riel), 14, has been murdered. This is not a suicide, but a murder. Jen has seen it in her dreams, she has felt it in her guts and she returns to her native village, Val-Paradis, determined to reopen the investigation and find the body of her sister Noémie. Only that.
Of course, you don’t arrest a suspect with hunches or hallucinations. Jen therefore convinces retired investigator Alain Renaud (Stéphane Gagnon) to support her in her mission. Without too much arm twisting, Detective Renaud, who was in charge of the file at the time, accepts. He pushes himself to Val-Paradis while his relationship is falling apart and his reputation is not recovering from a case of misconduct.
The arrival of this mismatched duo in Val-Paradis, a sort of caricature of a regional hole, will not suit the inhabitants, who fear that the truth will come out (finally).
Jen Paradis and Alain Renaud land at the Paradis family motel, hence the title of the miniseries, which the depressed mother Brigitte (Isabelle Guérard) has abandoned. A real dompe, this motel, let’s not be afraid of words. It’s not nearly dirty.
Jen and Alain’s investigation oscillates between a pure detective series and a paranormal thriller. These two genres fit together in a lame way, alas. The character of the cop Alain encourages us to frantically search for the culprit, while the bereaved Jen brings us back to her premonitory nightmares and her “states of consciousness”. One pulls, the other pushes. And it’s not moving fast, fast.
However, the punch at the end of the second episode, which takes place in room 35 of the motel, gave me a strong desire to see the sequel.
Obviously, who says series at the Twin Peaks says a gallery of picturesque characters, starting with the falconer and trafficker Polo (Larissa Corriveau), the mayor and exuberant real estate agent Julie (Dominique Quesnel), the local policeman Patrick “Pat Patrouille” Nelson (Martin Dubreuil), the autistic child Ulysse (Lucas Ditecco) who knows things like Aurise in Montreal PQthe witch Sabrina (Elisapie Isaac) and the libidinous musician (Éric Robidoux).
That’s a lot of flamboyant, extravagant personalities to manage in such a small territory. And all these people with strong characters cross paths at the village convenience store or at the local bar, the drop-off point for all the gossip.
Trick to unravel the many time jumps of Paradise Motel ? In 2019, heroine Jen doesn’t have a tattoo, while in the present, in 2022, she sports a huge one that eats half of her neck.
This story, co-signed by Sophie Deraspe and Stéphane Hogue (Indefensible), torn between the fantastic and the pure procedure and does not please, in the end, either the amateurs of the first genre or the fans of the second. As if the episodes sat between two chairs without choosing one.
As for the music, lord, it plays constantly, in almost every scene. It’s disturbing, turn it down.
So, Paradise Motel is it worth the price of a reservation? No, if you love conventional “Scandinavian noir” crime thrillers. Yes if you like TV, how to say, particular and esoteric.