Film noir a la Quebec.  CHEECH is Quebec’s Patrice Sauve savvy looking whodunit, based on the stage play of the same name.  It begins with the death of small time pimp Ron (Patrice Robotaille) lying face down in the office with snow blowing in from a broken window.  Irony is thrown in as he imagines himself on a sun drenched beach.  In Hollywood noir style, Sauve traces the 12 hours leading to the event.

The weird assortment of characters include his confused assistant Maxime (Maxime Denommée), Olivier (Létourneau), a client who is woefully behind in his payments, Jenny who wants to be called Jennifer (Anick Lemay), Ron’s top girl and Stéphanie (Fanny Mallette) the suicidal escort.  And Cheech is Ron’s rival.  The catalyst is a missing book that supposedly contains information of all the escorts and more.

Performances are not bad but CHEECH is more of a director’s film.  Sauve’s film takes a bit of time to get its footing.  Once the characters are established and the plot laid out, Sauve interweaves the events and encounters with an assured flair.  He takes the film out into the open.  With the exteriors of snow and close-ups of clocks and faces and differing camera angles, it is forgettable that CHEECH originated from a play.  Sauve achieves a satisfying piece of quirky but stylish Quebec entertainment.