‘Série noire‘ released on screen in 1979 is part of the gangster movie series that Alain Corneau made in the first decade of his directorial and screenwriting career. It is the French adaptation of a novel by Jim Thompson, co-writer on Kubrick‘s ‘Paths of Glory‘ of 1957, a successful novelist in the 1970s in France, where apart from this film he also inspired ‘Coup de Torchon‘ by Bertrand Tavernier. The film has many qualities, intriguing characters and an interesting cast, but I lacked a more consistent crime story. I did not read Thompson‘s book, but I was left with the feeling that elements of the story that would have better supported the evolution of the characters were omitted or neglected.
From the first scene it is clear that Franck Poupart, the hero of the film, lives a part of his life in an imaginary world, in which he is more than a pitiable salesman carrying a suitcase of samples of merchandise from which we never see him selling anything. In the better but less real part of his life he imagines himself to be something else somewhere else, maybe a gangster in an American movie. When he meets Mona, a young woman just out of her unhappy teen years, sequestered and forced to prostitute by her aunt, Franck will try to play the role of the hero in the movies, but the reality in which he lives is far too sordid and the complications are not late to appear.
What I liked. Slipping into tragedy is accompanied by insanity and grotesque. Their combination, together with the hopeless love story between the two pathetic characters, is excellent. Franck and Mona manage to gain the empathy of the spectators despite the deeds that they commit, which are presented as an extreme reaction to an already violent and corrupt environment. The significant contribution belongs to the actor’s creations of Patrick Dewaere (in the role of the tormented Franck, perhaps the best role of his career) and Marie Trintignant (in the role of Mona, fascinating in her first consistent role). Coincidence of destiny – the lives of the two actors ended both tragically – Dewaere committed suicide a few years after acting in ‘Série noire‘, Marie Trintignant was killed by her husband in 2003. Another remarkable creation is that of Bernard Blier in the role of Franck’s boss. The cinematography brings us to the screen a Paris of the desolate suburbs, frozen lands in a cold and dry winter, poor interiors. Corneau is one of those directors who were initially assistants to the Nouvelle Vague masters and who when they became independent created in various genres (‘film noir’ being one of them), applying the lessons learned and developing them creatively in different directions.
What I liked less. The film lacks a clear dramatic structure. The relationship between the two main characters is predictable from the beginning, and the actors’ creations cannot supply a certain dose of predictability. Franck’s secondary relationship is less well outlined and the motivations of his acts remain unclear. Insanity is too easy a pretext. I dare say that ‘Série noire‘ is a fake ‘film noir’. It is rather a story of tragic and hopeless love in the world in which it happens and with the characters involved.