The Charge
Stay away from the swimming pool.
Opening Statement
Henri-Georges Clouzot crafted, in Diabolique, a
masterpiece of suspense with interesting characters and one of
the finest plot twists of its time. Too bad this disc didn't
receive the typical Criterion treatment in the way of
extras.
The Evidence
Diabolique tells the story of a wicked headmaster,
Michel Delasalle, who runs a school owned by his wife,
Christina. Michel is a dastardly fellow who verbally abuses
Christina and physically abuses his mistress, Nicole Horner,
also a teacher at the school. In fact, he openly flaunts his
relationship with Nicole in front of Christina, further
hinting at his controlling nature. All this is learned in the
first five minutes of the film, which says a lot about
Clouzot's ability, as a director, to set the pace of a
film.
Actually, the first thirty minutes of the film
complete the plot setup. Nicole has convinced Christina to
help her kill Michel in a way that no-one will ever now he was
murdered. The two women plan to lure Michel to Nicole's
hometown to drug and drown him in a bathtub, only to return
the body to the school's pool. This should make everything
look either accidental or suicidal, says Nicole.
I
can't go much further into the plot without giving away one of
the best and most original endings in the history of film
(also one of the most famous, so you probably know it anyway).
In fact, director Clouzot pleads with the viewer, in the final
frame of the film, not to spoil the ending for those who have
not seen the picture. But if you insist in knowing more about
the plot, there are a few other reviews of this film out there
which take one more step in their description of what happens.
My feeling is that to go any further wastes an awfully well
written setup.
This film has been emulated countless
times since its debut, and even copied outright by Hollywood.
The question then is what makes this film so much more
powerful than its many imitators? My answer is Clouzot and the
story he tells. As an example, let's compare Diabolique
with another film I liked quite a bit, Wild
Things. The major difference is that Clouzot dwells on the
persona of his characters and examines both their motives and
the effect their choices have on their fragile psyches.
Wild Things does none of this. While the plot twists
and turns of that film are enough to entertain me, it still
falls a bit short, especially when compared to
Diabolique.
Diabolique and Clouzot have
been compared favorably with Hitchcock and Psycho so
many times, one might imagine them related in some strange,
far off way. In fact, it has been said that Diabolique
had a very strong influence on Hitchcock and his decisions
while making Psycho. Both directors use water as a
symbol of death, when up till then it was only used to
represent life. In another sign of his admiration for Clouzot,
Hitchcock adapted Vertigo from D'Entre Les Morts
by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, the writers of the
novel adapted to Diabolique, Celle Qui N'Etait
Plus.
The acting here is very well done, despite
Clouzot's famed dislike of actors (another trait he had in
common with Hitchcock). Vera Clouzot, wife of the director,
plays Christina the frail and sickly wife in such a way as to
virtually carry the film. We see in her all the pain and
anguish of the decision she has made. A religious woman,
Christine is forever burdened by the fact that she murdered
her husband. Simone Signoret plays Nicole as a fairly
masculine character, one who nearly overpowers Christina both
physically and emotionally. Paul Meurisse was outstanding as
Michel as well. Deviant and scummy throughout his performance,
he gave Michel just the right coloration of character, someone
to be hated and despised - someone who deserved to die.
Lastly, Charles Vanel must be singled out for his performance
as the bumbling Inspector Fichet who appears later in the film
to investigate Michel's disappearance. His character clearly
created the notion of the rumpled, crumpled P.I., only to be
copied many times over and to varying degrees from Peter
Falk's Columbo to Peter Sellers' Jacques Clouseau.
The
transfer of this film is pretty good, but far from perfect.
The black and white full frame image has been transferred
digitally from a 35MM fine grain composite master, which in
turn was made from a restored negative. There is some grain
evident here, but not enough to be totally distracting. The
restoration probably improved the negative, but there are
still some significant nicks and scars present. Which is all
ok, given the fact this 1954 film probably looks as good as it
ever has.
The Rebuttal Witnesses
The mono soundtrack is French only, which is bad news for
you fans of English dubbing. Personally I prefer reading
subtitles to watching a foreign language film badly dubbed
with English speaking actors. That reminds me entirely too
much of a bad Godzilla Saturday-morning-fest. But, the
subtitles were difficult to read in this film for one of a
couple of reasons. The first may have been Clouzot's pacing.
As noted above, this film is beautifully paced and a very
taught thriller. The second may have to do with the native
language being French. Whatever the cause, this film was much,
MUCH harder to follow than Nights of Cabiria. That
might also be attributed to the many silences and very slow
pacing of Cabiria which is more like a walk in the park
when compared to Diabolique's 440 yard run. The bottom
line is that the challenge is not too great and the film is
worth the struggle in every way. Do not let that keep you from
at least renting this film.
Closing Statement
This is a terrific film deserving of a viewing by any
serious film buff. If not for the story, at least for the
history, and for the fact that it has inspired so many other
directors and stories.
The Verdict
The film is acquitted. The disc needs more work and
deserves the complete Criterion treatment. Please re-release
this as a special edition.
From DVD
Verdict
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