I could grumble about the missing elements in this episode: how there is very little suspense (the shooting of the jeweller's wife is so cursory, so hurried that we barely register it), how the plot gets mangled in the course of the story--it's a major flaw to omit the Paris scene, or Andersen's flight to Belgium, the mediocrity of some of the actors. Still, the decors look pretty good--those Hungarian technicians are capable of recreating French country scenes--and Atkinson is settling down in his part. The Bruno Cremer version is the one to see; it has far better acting and the action is more convincing.

I was certainly very excited, and from the get-go, at the prospect of Atkinson playing Maigret. At least to me, it seemed like a perfect match. And at last, here was a chance to see a Maigret of my generation.Certainly, they've put a lot of effort into this production, it's beautifully shot and acted. But maybe they've tried to hard to impress with the stories. There's certainly always another twist and turn, but my credulity was always stretched very quickly beyond breaking point.And it certainly was a challenge for the thespian of usually hyperactive, hyperverbal and hyperphysical role to turn out a pokerfaced observer of the human theatre, but I often had the Impression that Maigret was somehow recovering from a debilitating stroke: "Tell her ... that ... in this country ..." It reminded me less of Maigret and more of that wheezy wheelchair kid in Malcolm In The Middle.

I'll be honest, the first two offerings I wasn't exactly full of praise for, but this third offering has very much changed my opinion. Everything feels settled, solid and somehow familiar. I now feel used to the concept of Rowan Atkinson as Maigret, and I feel he himself is now more comfortable in the role. Night at the Crossroads isn't my favourite story, but as a production it came to life, the performances were first rate, Thomas Wlaschiha stole the show for me, as he so often does, but he was fantastic, so diverse an actor. Lucy Cohu I still think is a joy as Maigret's wife. The only criticism I had was the performance of Kevin McNally, who's Grandjean was a little too much, somehow it seemed like he over-relished his role of villain, and was a little hammy.Great production values, this episode I feel has turned the series around, I now cannot wait for the next episode. A very solid 8/10

This is the latest ITV Maigret feature film starring Rowan Atkinson as Maigret. It is based on a novel by Simenon entitled LA NUIT DU CARREFOUR (THE NIGHT OF THE CROSSROADS), which has an interesting cinematic history. It was the very first Simenon novel ever to be filmed, and of course the first Maigret film, in 1932. That was directed by Jean Renoir, and it was a dreary and inept film which was frankly a complete failure (NIGHT AT THE CROSSROADS, 1932, see my review). The novel was more successfully filmed again in 1992 as an episode in the French Maigret series starring Bruno Cremer. However, this new film of the novel is even better, and is a complete success. It is absolutely superb. Atkinson has achieved perfection now in his portrayal of Maigret, and together with that fact, the script by Stewart Harcourt and the direction by Sarah Harding have turned out a spectacular example of drama for ITV, of which everyone can justly be proud. Tom Wlaschiha does a particularly excellent job of portraying the mysterious and tormented character of the Dane who calls himself Andersen, and Mia Jexen does an excellent job also as his equally mysterious 'sister' Else. I would say that Kevin McNally slightly over-acted as Inspector Grandjean, thereby letting us know too early that Grandjean was a 'baddie'. That all could have been done much more subtly, and not telegraphed, and the director should have given him better direction and told him to tone it down. Katherine Kanter did very well as Sarah Goldberg, a part which required a great deal of poise to make up for very little dialogue. I think I should also specially mention Wanda Opalinska, who played the minor character of Jojo, and who might normally not get mentioned in a review. She added a great deal to her small part, using her own wits and instincts, and correctly judging just the right level of suspicious glances and nervous reactions. The production design and music were excellent, as was the case with the previous films in this series. We have really terrific drama here, and let us hope they go on and on.