Tonight's film was a Criterion release called "La Verite"(1960), starring Brigitte Bardot as a young woman accused of murder. It was directed by the great Henri-Georges Clouzot, who also wrote and directed such classics as "The Wages Of Fear", "Diabolique and "Le Corbeau". As the movie begins, Bardot is awaiting trial in a holding cell. The details of her case will be related in flashback, as she and other witnesses testify in court. The prosecution portrays her as wanton and aimless, a slut who stole her sister's boyfriend away. The defense concedes that Bardot is promiscuous, but says that does not make her a murderer, and in fact she did not "steal" her sister's boyfriend. The man came to her of his own free will. And so our story begins.
Bardot lives at home with her parents, who barely tolerate her. Despite it's sexually liberated image, France in 1960 was a very conservative country. Bardot's sister Annie (Marie-Jose Nat) is straight-laced and studious, the apple of her parents' eye. She is a top violinist whose boyfriend (Samy Frey) is the conductor at her music conservatory. The relationship between Annie and the conductor is serious, but platonic. Conversely, her sister Bardot is oversexed (of course because it's Bardot). She resents the heck out of Annie's approval by their parents, and she also is also aware of the celibate nature of her relationship, so when she first meets Gilbert the boyfriend, she deliberately sets out to seduce him. At first, it doesn't work. He comes across as a classical music nerd who scoffs at her sexual effrontery. In truth, he is scared of her, but then......he comes back to visit her at home, in front of Annie, and we see that he's a self-satisfied jerk who never loved Annie in the first place.
Soon, he is hounding Brigitte night and day, pawing at her until even she has had enough. She does seem to have fallen in love with him, though, to the point where she is attending his orchestra rehearsals, which would normally be a few rungs above her cultural level. She believes Gilbert is in love with her as well, but in reality it's a toxic relationship. He's only interested in sex with her, his real love is for himself and his musical ambition. As for Bardot, she is a tragic figure, a basket case who passes herself from one man to the next in search of attention. She is cheating on Gilbert almost from the moment they first sleep together. He naturally resents this, and confronts her on it, but she is unable to control her behavior.
Meanwhile in the courtroom, the prosecutor and the defense attorney argue the case. It's not a spoiler to tell you that Gilbert has wound up dead, because that is stated at the beginning of the film. The only question is : was it self defense on Bardot's part, or was it murder?
There are many complexities that come into play, including the many fights and breakups of Bardot and Gilbert. At one point she gets a job in a nightclub, and takes to the boss, which causes more jealousy in Gilbert. Finally she has to turn to prostitution to make ends meet. This happens right before the climax of plot, so I'll let you discover it for yourself.
"La Verite" is half courtroom drama, half romantic film noir. I'm not sure I've ever seen Brigitte Bardot in a starring role before (most of her films were pretty cheesy), but she was very, very good here in the lead role. However, it is the supporting parts that carry the movie, especially Paul Meurisse and Charles Vanel as the adversarial attorneys prosecuting and defending the case. Samy Frey is also quite good as Gilbert, the self-infatuated young man who is stringing along the two sisters.
I would really like to give "La Verite" Two Huge Thumbs Up, and if you go to IMDB or Amazon, that is what you will get. Clouzot fans love this movie, and there is indeed a lot to admire and be drawn in by. The drama between Bardot and Frey is relentless, and there are also good character parts for Brigitte's artiste friends. Ultimately, though, I have to admit......I was near to being on the ropes at one point. Despite the rave reviews at the above mentioned sites, this movie goes on, and on, and on.....
.....and on.
The histrionics finally take their toll, and I was worn down by the end. "La Verite" runs 126 minutes. You've heard me mention that a given movie might benefit from a cut of, say, ten to twenty minutes? "La Verite" should've had 40 to 45 minutes slashed from it's running time, no kidding. It is so much in the "waaay too lonng" category, that you just wish Clouzot could've reined himself in. Had he cut it to 80 minutes, say, he'd have had a "no fat" classic like "Le Corbeau". But instead he let it run on and on, and you can judge for yourself the results.
I would love to give this movie Two Big Thumbs Up, but I just can't do it. I do recommend you see it, because it is very well made and acted, and photographed in mid-century black and white, but I can only give it a single thumb up because of the intolerable length, where two hours and six minutes feels like three hours, because the point has been made early on, and the director wears it out until you no longer care. //////
Sorry about that, but please do see the film anyway.
Hey, can you believe it? This is the first review since about June or July that I finished all in one night. I sure would like to get back to that standard in the New Year, because it would save me a lot of time for other stuff, like drawing for instance. But anyhow, life is what it is at the moment. We will do a Year In Review in the next couple of days and see where we stand. /////
Tons of love, see you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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