Série noire

I seem to be on something of an Alain Corneau binge, somewhat by accident. (These films were all recently added to kanopy...) Corneau is certainly not a one-trick pony, as his work spans an incredible range. This creation offers the ultimate noir de noir: super dark, bleak, depressing, yet somehow compelling at the same time. Quite well constructed and reminiscent in some ways of both the Coen brothers and Lina Wertmuller... I would not, however, characterize this film as a comedy. A bit too dark for that...

Unique, that's the only way to describe this movie that is absolutely impossible to put in any category...it has a very very special atmosphere, which I have never seen before. Patrick Dewaere is purely awesome, outstanding, one of his best roles, unforgettable, for this adaptation of a Jim Thompson's novel that I have never read. The opening scene, with Dewaere doing calisthenics with a very old fashioned and bizarre music, this scene announces and summarizes the whole movie. Not a drama, not a crime movie, not a comedy, simply something unique. Alain Corneau makes here something that looks like a Bertrand Blier's film. Everything, characters and situations, is sordid here, everything. It's a nasty losers story, emphasized by the settings and music.

One of the most original film experiences of the 70s is certainly French. Série noire is distinctive in its narrative and the form is never overwhelming the content.

Although most of it seems improvised, it is always surprising to learn that all of it was written down to the last word by Perec.

The most fascinating aspect of this movie is the angle of "harsh realism" that Corneau chose to tell the story. No external music is polluting the grimy atmosphere depicted with true to life colors and textures. And yet, it is one of the most romantic movie - in the purest form of the genre - that one can wish for.

And how can anyone not be touched by the late Patrick Deweare acting. It has been said that this movie took such a toll on the actor that some are almost suggesting that it was the starting point of his depressive state. It is truly a very moving, strong performance, full of surprise and nuance, almost so strong that it is unbearable to watch.

For those who are searching for a new kind of film making and acting, Série noire is certainly one of the best movies to provide such an experience.

Jim Thompson wrote dark thrillers that were turned into some superb films (The Getaway-Peckinpah, 1972; Pop. 1280, as Coup de torchon-Tavernier, 1981; The Grifters-Frears, 1990). In 1979, Alain Corneau took A Hell of a Woman and made Serie noire, one of the most remarkable French crime films. The tone is very bleak, and there is a strong element of surrealistic humor. Georges Perec co wrote the script and he contributed many nonsense words and phrases to Frank Poupart's role

Frank is a small time salesman in a Paris industrial suburb who supplements his meager earnings by stealing from his boss, Staplin. The latter has Frank tossed in jail, whereupon Mona, the seventeen-year-old girl Frank's fallen for, pays Staplin to have Frank released. Mona's aunt, who has been prostituting the girl to the neighbourhood men, now becomes a tempting target for robbery.

Marie Trintignant has made five pictures with Corneau; she has a dark, brooding quality (big black eyes) that is perfectly suited to this story. She plays the part of guardian-angel-cum-slut wonderfully. Bernard Blier is Staplin, the oily, dishonest boss to a T. Andreas Katsulas has a ball with his character, a guy so dumb you don't know how he functions in this world. Patrick Dewaere, who was to kill himself only three years after making the film, is astonishing as Poupart. Just look at the desperation behind the cool exterior, the wild things he does--smashing his head against the hood of his car, or almost drowning in the bathtub. There is a savagery about his work that you don't find in other French actors.

For this viewer at any rate the only two film versions of his novels that have captured the bleakness of Jim Thompson's world vision have been directed by Frenchmen.

Alain Corneau had hoped to film 'Cop 1280' but that was to be done two years later by Tavernier as 'Coup de Torchon' so Corneau and writer Georges Perec set about the task of adapting Thompson's 'A hell of a Woman' and transposing the setting from '50's America to 70's France.

The cinematographer on both films is Pierre-William Glenn.

Described by one critic as 'an excursion into Hell' this unutterably seedy, squalid, desolate, depressing, misanthropic and one would have to say, mesmerising piece, did not fare too well when first released but has since acquired cult status, mainly due to Patrick Dewaere's electrifying performance as the deranged Franck Poupart.

By all accounts Corneau would only consider Dewaere for the role and one can fully understand why. This talented actor was evidently a troubled soul whose inner darkness makes his portrayal terrifyingly real and one shudders to think just how much this performance must have taken out of him.

There are two women in Franck's life, his unpredictable wife Jeanne played by Myriam Boyer and the autistic prostitute Mona of Marie Trintignant whose mother Nadine happened to be Dewaere's partner at the time. Marie was sixteen and one wonders how her mother, or indeed her father Jean-Louis, felt about her first scene in which she bares all. Corneau later commented that working on this uncompromisingly adult film may have left its mark on her. Bertolucci said the same thing about Maria Schneider in 'Last Tango in Paris' but of course it is easy for a director to be sympathetic in hindsight.

Excellent performances from a small but select cast notably Bernard Blier whose son Bertrand had already directed Dewaere in two films.

The title 'Série Noire' is especially apt as it was the name of the publishing imprint which introduced Thompson's hard boiled works to French readers. It also loosely translates as 'run of bad luck' which in the case of Poupart is something of an understatement.

This film is not an easy watch but is essential viewing for all true cinéphiles and ranks as one of Corneau's finest. It is even more poignant in light of the tragic fate that befell both Patrick Dewaere and Marie Trintignant.

It seems appropriate here to mention that Jean-Louis Trintignant, one of France's greatest post-War actors, shuffled off this mortal coil in June of this year.