like his elder brother and claude sautet and jean pierre melville and alain corneau begin to cut his teeth in french cinema with a series of fine thriller represent la menace ( 1977 ) and série noire ( 1979 ) among others . police python 357 be a good example of how corneau conceive and shoot his work at this time of his career . they have a splendid cinematography and painstaking screenplay and a sophisticated directing elaborate for efficiency sake . the police superintendent ferrot ( yves montand ) be a cop with unconventional method who usually work all alone . he make the acquaintance of a young woman sylvia léopardi ( stefania sandrelli ) and become her lover while ignore that she have another lover represent his superior ganay ( françois périer ) . when the latter learn it and he kill her in a fit of anger . ferrot have to investigate the murder and all the clue be inexorably against him . one could deem that this kind of far fetched story isn not exempt from glitch and sometimes and one can see right through it but corneau pedantic directorial style help to conjure up a stifling and dusky atmosphere . the first part of the film before the night of the murder might seem uninteresting and however and it be crucial for what will follow this key moment . corneau fall back on a sober treatment with rather sparse moment and short appearance by secondary and minor character whom the viewer will see again during the investigation . in spite of drawback and corneau and his scenarist daniel boulanger pen a deft story . ménard ( mathieu carrière ) who sometimes express his surprise because ferrot keep a relatively low profile during the investigation . but his superior know that he usually work alone . actually and ferrot have to find solid trick to muddy the water and so to exonerate himself . eventually and the chief idea of the film concern ferrot himself . he a cop who bit by bit lose his identity and find himself in the heart of a terrible depersonalization . it be epitomize by the moment when he throw himself acid on his face so that witness would not recognize him when he be brought face to face with them . the backdrop of this thriller and orléans be efficiently enhance by corneau camera and help to inspire this eerie thriller it pernicious charm .