Monsieur Hire

There's a Term Paper waiting to be written on why it is that Georges Simenon's novels are only so-so when read but gain an extra dimension when cinematicised, if I may coin a phrase. This is the second time around for this one, Julien Duvivier did a first-rate job back in 1947/8, shooting in black and white with the great Michel Simon and a passable Viviane Romance, under the title 'Panique'. Patrice Leconte is no slouch either and he has moved on light years from 'Les Bronzes' and turned out a string of intriguing, offbeat, enchanting and excellent films, indeed, his track-record is the equal of any of the great post-war French film makers (and totally eclipses, it should go without saying the pretentious pairing of Godard and Truffaut)and with illustrious names like Jean-Pierre Melville, Alain Cornau, Claude Sautet, Bertrand Tavernier, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, and newer kids on the block in the shape of Ann Fontaine, Daniele Thompson, Agnes Jouai, Zabou, etc, that is saying something. Here he turns in a very tasty offbeat entry and finds in Michel Blanc the perfect leading man to convey at one and the same time a sense of isolation and inner strength. This is a film in which most, if not all the characters have an agenda. The lazy cop just wants to nail the sad son of a bitch who he considers perfect patsy material just because he chooses not to socialize with his neighbors. This is now a crime? Alice, the subject of Hire's open voyeurism is anxious to keep suspicion from falling where it should, her own boyfriend, but such is the quality of Sandrine Bonnaire's acting (she turns in an equally offbeat and ambiguous performance in Leconte's latest film, 'Confidences trop Intimes', currently on release)that we can't be sure that she doesn't REALLY fancy Michel Blanc's essentially colorless Hire. Hire himself is not interested in diverting suspicion from himself, as he could so easily do, as protecting Alice, with whom he has fallen in love, from both the indifference of her boyfriend (which, natch, she can't see) and the repercussions should he (Hire) talk to the gendarmes. The only jarring note in fact is the aggravating Michal Nyman grating sounds that pass for music in his circle of pseuds. Pity I couldn't rewrite that to read Jarre-ing notes, had Leconte had the good taste to hire Maurice Jarre, or indeed, ANYONE bona fide musician. That cavil to one side this remains an absorbing film, not perhaps quite eclipsing 'Panique' but certainly fit to stand beside it. 8/10

If you've ever been in a love triangle, or were kind to someone who loved you but you didn't really love them in return, you'll appreciate the sad dance of the three main characters in this film. A young man and woman are lovers, and she is watched by her neighbor, the unpopular Mr. Hire, black sheep of a Paris near-suburban nabe. They begin a friendship, and even a relationship of sorts, while a cop tries to pin the murder of a young local girl, also an odd duck, on Mr. Hire. Not wanting to spoil the story for you, I won't say more, except to say that the slow parts are tolerable if you know in advance that this is a very thoughtful, haunting movie and you've got to be a little patient for the wonderful reward, which comes right at the end. Very pretty music, beautiful colors and details, lots of sad little moments that remind you of the loneliness of daily life. I wouldn't actually recommend this to most people. I don't think they'd tolerate the lack of Hollywood flash. If you're smart, you'll watch it though. I got it on DVD at a public library and wish I could see it on a big screen, though the DVD images are very lovely.

Having read some of the negative reviews regarding this film, I think the first thing to make clear here is that there is no point in watching this film if your idea of a perfect movie is Jurassic Park or The Da Vinci Code.

This is a film that focuses not on the story itself, but more on the characters and the emotions that reside within them. The above mentioned films take an idea for a story (a dinosaur filled wildlife park or a mysterious religious secret) and then devise a plot which is by far and away beyond what would ever happen in the real world.

In contrast, Monsieur Hire takes a story in which very little happens: A man is suspected of a murder. The man is a reclusive misfit, devoid of charm or humour, but he harbours a love for a woman he has never even met: a woman he knows only through seeing her from his apartment window. Unlike the aforementioned films, the plot, from beginning to end, can be summarised within just a few sentences. But it is what is behind the plot which makes this movie incredible. It is the notion of love which drives the film.

The acting and directing show passion that is more intense and sexual than anything I have seen, yet it does so without even a hint of what you would expect from a film described as "intense" and "sexual". The intensity of the love shown by the protagonist is beyond anything that one would have seen before, and yet it is far from the purity that one would normally associate with such an emotion. Indeed, it is dark and tense, and due to the questionable character of its object, one is left in turmoil as to whether this love is to be admired, pitied or instead viewed as just desserts for a man of his nature.

Those who have scored this low on the basis that the characters do not conduct themselves in a "believable way" confound me. The whole point of a film is that it takes you away from the everyday scenario. Most movies show you fairly ordinary people involved in extraordinary stories. This one shows you extraordinary characters involved in a story which (in itself) is fairly ordinary. To score this low based on its plot is to criticise Opera for its storyline. The whole point of the opera is its music, and the whole point of this film is its incredible portrayal of emotion. Brilliantly acted, brilliantly directed, and this will haunt you for some time.

If you need your films to be Hollywood factory typecasts then don't watch this. You won't enjoy it. Go and rent out The Expendibles, and leave Monsieur Hire to those who appreciate art when they see it. I'm sorry if that sounds pretentious. I enjoy a cheesy Hollywood flick as much as the next person, but it's sad that there are people who can't see beyond Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis.

"Monsieur Hire" is a compelling and deep character study which tells of a reclusive and peculiarly enigmatic and antisocial man, the title character, who is a suspect in a murder investigation and who obsessively watches a beautiful young woman from across his apartment courtyard. A methodically plodding, plaintive, and somber film-making masterwork, "M. Hire" offers none of the big budget bennies and cheap tinsel and titillation of the usual Hollywood fare. Likely to be a love it or hate it flick, "M. Hire" should appeal most to Europic devotees and those into psychodramas and character studies. (B+)

Solid and perfectly paced camera work and direction, players of exquisite talent and nuance, make this Simenon novel a powerful film . The winsomeness and cunning of Bonnaire, one of France's great actresses as the love object; the fanatic and unsettling calm conviction of the police detective played by Andre Wilms; the furtiveness, loneliness, and longing of the brilliant Michel Blanc; and the cowardliness and thugness of Thullier, a man made to play the thug, combine to make both a believable tale and a great metaphor for our need for "the other." The Brahms loop in the vital scenes of longing are a masterful touch. A work of great competence, sensitivity, and truth. What is essential in the novel but too subtly hinted at in the film, is anti-semitism only suggested by the revealing of M. Hire's original family name in questioning by the detective. A truly great film.