Les diaboliques (1955)

Movies don't get much better than this, 13 July 2005

I've seen Les Diaboliques with its very high rating on IMDb for a few years. But I thought to myself, it can't be that good - it's French. I finally gave it a chance. How wrong was I? I've never been more happy with a blind purchase in my life.

Michel Delasalle (Paul Meurisse) is the headmaster of an all-boys school. He's an abusive person to both his wife (Vera Clouzot - the director's wife) and his mistress (Simone Signoret) - both of whom work at the school. The wife and mistress decide they can't take it anymore and hatch a plot to kill Michel. The plan is carried out and the body is placed where it can be found. The problem is no one finds the body. It's gone. Things turn from bad to worse (and more horrifying) when students begin reporting that they have seen Michel roaming through the school. Any more of the story would be far too much.

I do my best not to rate a movie 10/10 after a first viewing. But every once in a while, I stumble upon a real classic that I can't help but call perfect. The acting is very impressive, especially Vera Clouzot as the fragile wife. I felt every emotion she expressed. The plot is fantastic. Even though I figured out what was going to happen, it didn't matter. The movie is so well written that it was just a joy to watch it unfold. The sets are about the best I've seen. Everything looked just as I would expect from a French movie made so close to end of the war. Nothing was changed to make things look "pretty". It's dirty and it works. I could go on and on like this, but you get the idea.

Clouzot has been called the "French Hitchcock" and it's easy to see why. He handles a movie with Hitchcockian type themes as well as Hitchcock might have himself. His decision to allow the movie the time necessary to build atmosphere and to allow the audience to get to know the characters is something I find sorely missing in many of today's movies.

I highly recommend this one.

10/10