On ne meurt que deux fois

Critics are very divised on Jacques deray's most ambitious movie in the eighties:whilst Jean Tulard hailed it as the director's apex , Alain Garel ,in "la Saison Cinématographique 1986 ,was much less laudative , deploring that the denouement of Robin Cook's novel was cheapened .

Jacques Deray had already broached psychological thriller,notably in "La piscine",(1969) which holds up quite well today ;he would succeed again in "Un Crime "(1993) ,an unfairly overlooked film noir.

In the eighties , like in the seventies,he was too often at the beck and call of French superstars ("Trois Hommes A Abattre" ,"Le Marginal") ,and his production suffered accordingly ."On Ne Meurt Que Deux Fois" is much less derivative casting Serrault ,who from "Pile Ou Face " had relinquished comedies to dramatic works , is credible as a cop,but less so as a man who can seduce Charlotte Rampling who ,with Xavier Deluc -too often ignored by both directors and audiences - ,forms a fascinating ambiguous pernicious pair.

The movie often drags on ,and Deray's directing too static and conventional ; if the movie sometimes does the trick,it's because of Rampling' s deadly charm ,par excellence the English femme fatale and of Michel Audiard's final lines -he was to die shortly afterwards- : the conversation at the morgue with the medical examiners is perhaps the best moment in the whole movie and would justify the English title "you'll die with your eyes open" -the French one is my title .

In the 80's, director Jacques Deray had it big. He collaborated with superstar Jean-Paul Belmondo in box office hit "Le marginal" (1983), and the less successful "Le solitaire" five years later. It was with an adaptation of Robin Cook's novel "On ne meurt que deux fois" that he made his most ambitious work, which, because of its aspiring nature itself, partly failed to be what he had envisaged it.

The film's protagonist is inspector Staniland (Michel Serrault), who is called in to investigate the murder of the pianist Charles Berliner. While searching for suspects, he finds some tapes where Berliner himself confesses his fear of a certain Marc, saying indicatively "He might kill me someday". It is at this moment that Berliner's former mistress , Barbara (Charlotte Rampling) arrives, and confesses to having murdered the pianist herself. So, who is guilty, and, is she telling the truth? These are the questions that the bemused inspector has to answer.

While I can understand Deray's will to make a film noir, his direction wasn't up to the task. The film keeps dragging on, with long scenes that serve the plot little but to show the late Michel Audiard's dialogues (this was his last script, he died some months later). It is through his more commercial work, like "Le marginal", that Deray showed his directing at its best. Fast-paced, action-packed scenes that move the plot were the features of the latter film. It is indicative that "On ne meurt que deux fois" and "Le marginal" have the same duration, yet the second one feels shorter, due to Deray's excellent work.

The actors saved this film from failing. The duo Serrsult-Rampling weren't as strong as the one he had formed with Isabelle Adjani in "Mortelle randonnée", but it is interesting to see Rampling's attempts at seducing the inspector, who is there to do his job. Serrault was made to play roles of policemen, and this film clearly shows that. Regarding Rampling, she was perfect as the femme fatale. Seductive, bold, and intelligents, she served as an excellent counterpoint to Serrault's reserved hero.

The music in the film, provided by Claude Balling, was of average quality. I wasn't impressed by the jazzy instrumentals, the only song that I liked being the one heard during a scene at a discotheque, which wasn't even composed by Balling, it being just a pop piece of the era.

All in all, "On ne meurt que deux fois" is a film of average quality, that is saved by its actors' convincing performances. It is commendable, though, for the being one of the few successful film noirs in France at the decade, surpassing one million admissions, when films of its kind were mostly ignored. A good effort by a capable director and cast, that could have been much better, had Deray taken example of the more commercial aspects of his work.

Jacques Deray was a very talented director, no problem. But here, when it is question of adapt a Robin Cook's book, especially this one- HE DIED WITH HIS EYES OPENED- the challenge was too big for Jacques Deray. This novel is the most captivating I had ever read, and this kind of story is not my cup of tea at all. But this book is sooo gloomy, so depressing, that only a handful of directors could have made it with the proper, adequate atmosphere, to be faithful to the genuine material. Another French film LES MOIS D'AVRIL SONT MEURTRIERS, was closer to the Robin Cook's book, with the same title. Jacques Deray was not the best choice for this kind of films. His stuff was rather crime dramas; not psycholigical plots. Despite Michel Serrault' and Charlotte Rampling, the book was far far better. But maybe a faithful script to the novel would have been too gloomy for audiences.

The only way to enjoy the movie is to listen to Audiard's bitter last words. After the death of his elder son François (10 years before he penned this last movie) all his personal work took a sharp turn from the silly burlesque comedies he directed to deep dark psychological murder mysteries.

These murder mysteries are a vehicule for dialog to reminisce the dead, understand who he was, finalize an inventory of the remorse not to have known the intriguing victim better, not to have lived a life closer to his. Apart from this very personal subtext this movie is lamely directed. Minimalistic direction works most of the time for noir film, the problem here is that the dialogue eats up all the story.

So if you are not interested in listening to profoundly dark words by Audiard you will be disappointed to see Michel Serrault embody a sinister character ghostly floating along the lines of the master wordsman.

I am not giving to much away with the last line: Audiard looks back on his life and wonders if he ever was sincere enough or too much of a boasting showman wording his way away from simple things.

You'll die with your eyes open if you are a fan of the beautiful Charlotte. In a great french speaking role she is the best thing in the film. The plot is a touch convoluted and a bit difficult to unravel but basically it is a murder mystery. The cop who is supposed to be solving the crime is easily led astray by the smouldering Charlotte Rampling. Let's face it, she could lead any man astray just by looking at them!! And in this film she does more than just looking. Is she telling the truth when she confesses or is she protecting someone? All will be revealed, including all of Charlotte Rampling. If you think that I've given the game away, well, come on now, you'd be disappointed if she didn't get her kit off wouldn't you? See the film if you get the chance, it's a pretty good example of a french cop film if you like that sort of thing. It's certainly better than a lot of the trashy cop films that Hollywood churns out. 7/10.