When I saw Le Samourai several weeks ago, I felt disappointment with the incomprehensible behavior of a supposedly-brilliant hit-man. He seemed to do everything to get caught by the police and then the movie ended in contrived fatalism. I hadn't seen such sloppy storytelling and characterization in a while.
Were it not for Jean-Pierre Melville's technical skills, I wouldn't have bothered with Un Flic. Fortunately Melville's visual style appealed to much to me I just had to watch more of his movies. After watching Un Flic, I don't regret that decision.
Melville not only has improved his technical craftsmanship but his storytelling abilities too. He shoots the movie with a washed-out blue look, in a Paris beset by never-ending rain. It's a dark, cold world, much like his characters, cops, criminals and prostitutes. He takes time to set up scenes, doesn't abuse the editing, allowing scenes to drag out so the viewer can absorb all the details. Even better he doesn't abuse the dialogue; his characters are introspective men of action who communicate with looks and actions. Most of the movie is told through visuals; the dialogue is sparse, succinct and the point.
The story itself is ordinary: four robbers heist a bank, one of them gets wounded and is dropped at a hospital This sets up the eventual downfall of the group as they prepare a new heist, unawares that the cops are slowly closing in on them. To make things more complicated, there's an awkward love triangle between the criminal mastermind Simon (Richard Crenna), Cathy (Catherine Deneuve) and Comissioner Coleman (Alain Delon).
I don't doubt Alain Delon was the main pull: he was a popular star in France at the time. But he does nothing for me. It's really Robert Crenna, an otherwise mediocre actor in his own country, who delivers an amazing performance as an intelligent, daring, likable criminal who runs a nightclub and organises elaborate heists. Fascinating as he may be, though, I give Melville credit for not glamourising criminals. Following these men around one realises they're lonely, hopeless people who have nowhere else to turn. That's especially obvious in one of the criminals, a 60-year-old jobless husband who lies to his wife about going out to look for work. How distant he is from the modern movie criminals who flaunt themselves as media celebrities.
Another thing I give Melville credit for is for making this movie truly fatalistic. in Le Samourai I never thought Jeff Costello had reached the end of the line; he just gives up when he had many ways to get out. But in this movie, Simon knows his end has arrived and still he fights on. For me that's true fatalism, fighting against the certainty of failure.
With a renewed interest in Melville's movies, I can't wait to watch the rest of them.
Were it not for Jean-Pierre Melville's technical skills, I wouldn't have bothered with Un Flic. Fortunately Melville's visual style appealed to much to me I just had to watch more of his movies. After watching Un Flic, I don't regret that decision.
Melville not only has improved his technical craftsmanship but his storytelling abilities too. He shoots the movie with a washed-out blue look, in a Paris beset by never-ending rain. It's a dark, cold world, much like his characters, cops, criminals and prostitutes. He takes time to set up scenes, doesn't abuse the editing, allowing scenes to drag out so the viewer can absorb all the details. Even better he doesn't abuse the dialogue; his characters are introspective men of action who communicate with looks and actions. Most of the movie is told through visuals; the dialogue is sparse, succinct and the point.
The story itself is ordinary: four robbers heist a bank, one of them gets wounded and is dropped at a hospital This sets up the eventual downfall of the group as they prepare a new heist, unawares that the cops are slowly closing in on them. To make things more complicated, there's an awkward love triangle between the criminal mastermind Simon (Richard Crenna), Cathy (Catherine Deneuve) and Comissioner Coleman (Alain Delon).
I don't doubt Alain Delon was the main pull: he was a popular star in France at the time. But he does nothing for me. It's really Robert Crenna, an otherwise mediocre actor in his own country, who delivers an amazing performance as an intelligent, daring, likable criminal who runs a nightclub and organises elaborate heists. Fascinating as he may be, though, I give Melville credit for not glamourising criminals. Following these men around one realises they're lonely, hopeless people who have nowhere else to turn. That's especially obvious in one of the criminals, a 60-year-old jobless husband who lies to his wife about going out to look for work. How distant he is from the modern movie criminals who flaunt themselves as media celebrities.
Another thing I give Melville credit for is for making this movie truly fatalistic. in Le Samourai I never thought Jeff Costello had reached the end of the line; he just gives up when he had many ways to get out. But in this movie, Simon knows his end has arrived and still he fights on. For me that's true fatalism, fighting against the certainty of failure.
With a renewed interest in Melville's movies, I can't wait to watch the rest of them.