Non coupable

Michel Simon is a drunk doctor with a declining practice. One evening, driving home from a dive bar, he strikes and kills a motorcyclist. Thinking fast and clearly, he makes it look like the motorcyclist had an accident. When he gets away with it, he congratulates himself on his brilliant thinking, and goes back to tending his patients with the best skill he has.

Then he discovers his mistress, Jany Holt, has been cheating on him and selling his gifts to her to give to her lover.

If you want someone to play a pitiable monster, you could not do better than Simon, and that's what director Henri Decoin has done here. He keeps his camera on Simon, surrounds him with intelligible and not particularly memorable characters -- with the exception of Jean Wall, who plays the doctor who is stealing away Simon's practice as a cold, arrogant character -- and lets Simon stand out, as he simultaneously exults in his triumphs and finds despair in the destruction of the ideals he once held.

With "les inconnus dans la maison" (1942),Henry Decoin, one of the past masters of the French film noir,entered his more fruitful career ;but the trilogy he made before the end of WW2 (which encompass such works as "le bienfaiteur" and "l'homme de Londres ") was not entirely desesperate : some sunshine broke through .

It was no longer that way with "la fille du diable" (1945) ,the ending of which is one of the most pessimistic he ever conceived ;that may explain why "non coupable" has TWO endings :the producers suggested he film another sweetened conclusion* ,like Duvivier reluctantly did for his masterpiece "la belle équipe" (1936);now screened just after the film ,this new denouement brings nothing new and spoils the absolutely noir atmosphere of the movie: probably inspired by Fritz Lang's "woman in the window" (1944), it comes at the most awkward moment.

I suggest the 2021 (soon to be 2022) viewer leave after the director's cut (or turn off his TV set ) for ,as Decoin intended it , it is one of the apex of French film noir and begins where the precedent movie left ; the comparison is not irrelevant :both movies feature an outcast ,Isabelle ,'the Devil's daughter" in the 1945 effort Ancelin in "non coupable" ,a barfly doctor despised by the whole town ,including his colleague ,a smug elegant man who loves to bring him down ;in their scene together ,the words do not cut,they bite.

In both movies ,the press plays a prominent part :the cynical journalist in "non coupable" , Isabelle's cuttings in "la fille du diable".

I dare you to find ONE nice character in "non coupable" ; the crimes may be implausible (one of the main reproaches when the movie was released )but they inspire the director's extremism :based on a Marc -Gilbert Sauvageon 's screenplay ,it depicts the hypocrisy and the wickedness which linger on even when the customers have left the bistro ,leaving the human wreck with the owner and the waitress.

Michel Simon ,one of five greatest actors of the French cinema , gives a superlative performance ,in the part of a man rejected by a whole town (like in Duvivier's masterful "panique"(1945) ). Good support from Jany Holt as his wife and from Jean Wall as honorable doctor Dormont.

. *"les amants sont seuls au monde " (1947) has also another sweetened ending ;producers like happy ends best .

Another movie which i expected it was gonna be good, but it turned out to be even better.

First of all, i don't necessarily agree with some viewers that it's a black comedy. At times, it plays out like that but overall, it is a psychological drama thriller, a tragedy -not in an Ancient Greek sense but more like Edgar Allan Poe maybe. If i had to find something in common with Ancient Greek tragedies, it's the way the protagonist thinks he/she avoided "the spider" (their fate) but with every step they take, they are entangled even more in the web.

Michel Simon is expectedly magnificent, Jany Holt the same. The whole movie feels "fresh", timeless and not dated at all. It's both entertaining and deep. Exciting and intense.

And the ending was great. Even if you can guess where it goes, it's still awe-inspiring.

This must assuredly be the darkest of Henri Decoin's Film Noirs whilst its bleak and pessimistic tone is matched only by that of Duvivier's masterpiece 'Panique' from the same year.

Both films happen to star Michel Simon whose character in the earlier film is a tragic victim of circumstance whereas here he is the architect of his own downfall.

The screenplay by Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon is full of Gallic irony not least the film's title for although Simon's egomamiacal doctor longs to be found guilty of committing a series of seemingly perfect murders, his buffoonish exterior renders him above suspicion. He is a monstrous creature whose monstrosity is further enhanced by cameraman Jacques Lemare's low-angle shots. The final devastating dénouement represents the ultimate irony and is far more effective than the alternative upbeat ending that Decoin was obliged to shoot.

Excellent performances from Jean Wall as a rival doctor, the always-good-value Jean Debucourt as the investigating detective and Jany Holt as Simon's increasingly terrified mistress. As for Monsieur Simon one simply runs out of superlatives when describing this magnificent artiste whose portrayal here of a vainglorious but pitiable figure adds to his gallery of masterful characterisations.

Upon reading that a proposed remake to be directed by Christopher Gans and starring Albert Dupontel never came to fruition, this viewer could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

"Non Coupable" is ahead of its time in tone and themes: I got both Claude Chabrol and Twilight Zone vibes from it. What begins as a dark thriller has evolved by the end into a profoundly (and amusingly) ironic black comedy; the ending is just about perfect. Very strong performance by Michel Simon in the lead. Avoid plot spoilers. *** out of 4.