La Bête Humaine

La Bête Humaine
*****/5
Jean Renoir

*****SPOILERS*****

Update: I apologize for my total blabbering about how good this movie is. I was rendered completely inarticulate and sound like a total moron.

Amazing amazing. There is a lot to be loved in this film. Starting with the writing which is so good. The wad of cash is established so early, but returns so many times. The murder is preceded by a failed attempt, forcing the audience to feel the buildup and tension twice for the same thing. Actions and motivations are established so, so clearly that you only need to see them once to understand your character at every turn. The beginning is a little rushed and a lot of characters are named before they are introduced, but not enough to be played as a reveal when they show up. But once it is all there, it builds into something so intense and beautiful that anything awkward in the beginning is likely to be deepened upon a second or third viewing.

Also of note are the visual juxtapositions. A photograph of Severine's godfather is used in contrast to his presence several times, his arm around her implying more and more each occurrence. The scene near the end which features the singer performing a song about a wily, fickle temptress with no attachments is an interesting predecessor to Kenneth Anger's use of pop music.

Being familiar with Hitchcock's oeuvre, it amazes me how much it seems ideas were being passed back and forth between him and those involved in (and before) the French New Wave. They loved him as a shining example of both their auteur theory and what was wrong with films. This film features a murder in the first act (on a moving train, no less!), scenes in a crowded ballroom, a femme fatale, shots along train tracks, stylized sound, expressionistic lighting, and extreme tension, both visually and plot-wise. Some of these ideas were not present in Hitchcock's work until after this film was made. Others were present earlier with greater execution. Others were present earlier and much weaker. Others were present earlier, made stronger in France, and returned to Hitchcock's control later.

Recommendations:
Young and Innocent
Blackmail
Scorpio Rising