TARGET NUMBER ONE a Victor Malarek movie

Josh Harnett plays real life investigative journalist Vic Malarek 

FRANÇAIS app de traduction à gauche

A riveting story that sent me on a deep  Google search for the real "Daniel Léger", a then young drug addict enticed by an RCMP CI to go to Thailand to make a drug buy. 

The first part of the movie introduces us to the two main characters: Daniel Léger played by Antoine Olivier Pilon and Victor Malarek  played by Josh Hartnett.

 

Léger is trying to stay sober, but falls into the trap of the RCMP CI Picker, played superbly by Jim Gaffigan, who is a drug addicted grifter who wants to make a buck. 

Malarek is a serious journalist whose work I have enjoyed through the years. The film is about his dedicated effort to find the truth about what happened to Daniel Léger and find out why no RCMP official or Thailand official allow this prisoner to have visitors. We see him at the beginning of his career played with intensity by Josh Harnett.

The true story is captivating, the soundtrack sustains the action well, but... there are a few things I can't get over as a film critic. One is the casting of the superb Canadian actor Stephen McHattie as the lead RCMP investigator Frank Cooper. The actor is a frail 74 year old and we are expected to believe men that old go in the field to fight with drug dealers in foreign lands. Doesn't work! It is distracting!

Meanwhile, the real Daniel Léger,  Alain Olivier, has written and published a book, Good Luck Frenchy,  detailing his extraordinary tragic misadventure that cost him his freedom and his youth. On this link you will see real photos of his ordeal and you will be able to see the evidence of the frame-up that he has gathered through his trials. 

You will be able to see Target Number One at the theater but there are safety protocols to follow. From this site: https://aimetoncinema.ca/fr/au-cinema-en-toute-securite you will get added information. Follow the link to your chosen cinema to get English information on their health guidelines. 

Opens in theaters this week-end and is also available on Pay per View.

Lena Ghio