‘Cannes Confidential’ Recap: ‘Creatures of Habit’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(L-R) Shy’m and Lucie Lucas as Detective Lea Robert and Detective Camille Delmasse in Episode 102 of ‘Cannes Confidential’ – ‘Creatures of Habit’. (Photo Courtesy of Acorn TV/AMC Networks.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘Cannes Confidential’. To revisit the Series Premiere, click here.
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For the most part, crime stories and mysteries on television… really don’t pay all that much homage to storytelling in general, much less the past of the genre. A move that is likely attributed to the fact that these stories are eager to dive into their subject matter and explore the horrors of murder and teach us something about humanity along the way. Which isn’t exactly a bad thing, since murder and crime are an ugly business. But there is nothing wrong either, with taking the time to pay proper respect to the genre that gave life to that story in the first place, as happens in every other genre out there and thankfully… that mantra is starting to change. For more and more… there are crime shows out there trying to tip their cap to the stories that came before them, as evidenced by the next episode of Cannes Confidential on Acorn TV.

For ‘Creatures of Habit’ happened to be a story that featured… some old school crime storytelling. For a death at the local casino, brought both Harry and Camille within its walls, to better understand what could have caused such a heinous crime and well… in brief… it turned out that jilted lovers and broken hearts were to blame for death and robbery. Since a blacklisted poker player made a point to continue to bleed the casino dry with her outstanding poker skills, since she was emotionally wounded in every way imaginable by the casino’s lothario owner. Not to mention… it was one of his employees that did the deed regarding his late wife for love related reasons, and well… that was quite the incredible throwback. For the jilted lover is a classic trope that played out in this genre often in its earliest years and that was a nice homage to find here, as were the shout-outs to other shows.

Because this episode had a real Moonlighting vibe to it and featured the gloss and glitz of 1980s crime dramas… with its Las Vegas feel and that led to some fun in this tale. The kind that is rare to find in the genre, because of the respect that the subject matters demands. But this episode figured out how to use the ‘will they or won’t they mantra’ that hung heavy over that show to keep things both light and respectful, and that added a real air pf romance to this tale between Harry and Camille… and Lea for that matter since she does have big eyes for Camille. Not to mention, the homages went above and beyond in this story in the final act, since it basically tipped its cap to Casino Royale and James Bond in general, thanks to Harry’s desire to play a little poker with one of the villains of the story.

Also… side note, Jamie Bamber for the next James Bond. Just sayin’. The man can rock that tux.

But that aside… there was still plenty of story to be found in this episode as well. After all, the pressure was on Harry to deliver a name regarding who was tormenting Camille’s family and likely putting pressure on her father and well… he did deliver. Which spoke volumes to Harry’s resourcefulness and skill in finding information in this tale. And we even saw more of his human side, as evidenced by the whole subplot involving his daughter and the fact that she happened to be in Cannes, going to school and everything. Plus, we also continued to learn more about what drives Camille and how skilled she is as an investigator and all of these elements helped to bring forth, one incredible episode when all is said and done. 

Simply because… this was a delight to watch and it never felt overwhelming or dark, and it truly was a trip down memory lane. As though this writer had settled in on a Tuesday night on ABC to see Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepard do their thing. Not to mention, the case was engaging, because the clues were difficult to connect, and that engages a viewer deeply as they try to put the pieces together. But above all, what made this episode so delightful, was the characters. For character development was a hard focus of this episode and that’s always a welcome thing to see in a crime story. Since stagnancy and status quo do plague those and well, it will be interesting to see what kinds of surprises await us in the weeks to come, as we continue our journey through this refreshing and delightful new series. Until next time.

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