L'ennemi naturel

Great actor with great acting.almost 16 years ago but still mind blowing to watch.

Psychological thriller,depicting a sordid story,trying to imitate Patricia Highsmith 's style,but without the novelist's talent.

A young detective, who lacks self-assurance ,is investigating the mysterious death of a young man.All he does seems to backfire on him and for all the gendarmes and the people around ,he is the person to blame .The plot involves the victim's dad who plays around because his sexual appetite is insatiable,a nymphomaniac,suicides ,incest (with the papa's daughter),homosexuality (the young cop seems in love with the father:or at least ,some of his phantasms tend to tell us so;or is it his sexual power that impresses him so much?the scene when he makes love to his wife is revealing)and the loss of two policemen (which comes at the most awkward moment).The last sequence might seem obscure for most of the viewers.

The most interesting thing is the young detective ,played by a less than self-confident actor,which makes sense in such a strange screenplay.When he is with his wife and child (only one sequence in the whole movie) he says he enjoys that "normal " life ,but it's obvious he 's trying to persuade himself .Does the title mean that the natural enemy is yourself?

Like this? try this....

"L'Homme Blessé" Patrice Chéreau,1983

Strictly freudienne for a story that can be expected coming out of a small town, not much complexity but makes it up for the charm.

The magnetic presence of Mr. Tanguy, and before I become tempted in trying to be a wise-ass, which I don't, and start to playing with or throwing various euphemisms and be found out to be subconsciously obsessing over someone else's "assets", I'd have to say that given the story is a black-and-white, by-the-book police procedural, decent if not predictable, even I can't help but be entranced by the charm exuded by a clothed Mr. Recoing in portraying a shallow, vacuous grieving father. I can see where his character's insecurity comes from (there shoulnd't be any) but I have to say that his performance working on such a limited character dealing with sex addition, respectably adequate enough, to say the least.

And I can also imagine why Lt. Luhel chose to risk it all and let himself carried away and enraptured by Tanguy (I sure would be), a believable performance sincerely depicted by Mr. Lespert. Ridiculous as it might seem for me how the character Lespert chose to resolve this, I understand his reasons, it's what the story and the character dictates, and indeed there are people like that, I guess, having beliefs not fastened securely on a strong foundation, bound to be torn down easily.

My rating: B-flat.