Sunday, September 19, 2010

172. Les Diabolique

Les Diabolique (1955)

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Starring: Simone Signoret
Vera Clouzot
Paul Meurisse

IMDb Rating: 8
My Rating: 9

"I may be reactionary, but this is absolutely astounding - the legal wife consoling the mistress! No, no, and no!"






Synopsis

Two women both work at a school for boys and both are romantically involved with the headmaster of the school. Christina is his wife, while Nicole is his mistress. Christina is well aware of her husband's infidelities. Michel treats both women awful, and the women have grown tired of his actions. Together the conspire to kill him and dump his body in the school's pool. When the murder is completed and body disposed of, Christina is riddled with anxiety. Soon the pool must be drained and the women find that their dear Michel's body is now missing.

What's so great about Les Diabolique?

Les Diabolique has a plot that just completely draws me in. The first time I read the synopsis of the film years ago, I was literally shaking in anticipation to see it. Often a movie will sound better than it actually turns out to be. Not so with this film. The plot and slowly unraveling execution is done absolutely perfectly. You truly feel along for the ride with the ladies. As far as thrillers go, this film ranks extremely high on my list. There are no loud noise "jump scares", which will completely turn me off from a film. This film relies on great story telling and legitimate scares to fright it's viewers.

Anything not so great?

The only downside to this film has nothing really to do with the movie. It's an old film, so I have never seen a good quality print of transfer of the film. Due to this, it can be difficult to follow as the sound and picture sometimes jumps and appears riddled with cracks. DO NOT let this deter you from seeing this film though.

Best Scene

To talk about the films best scene is to give away a huge fact of the film. I will just say the film's "bathtub scene" is on par with Alfred Hitchcock's famous "shower scene" from Psycho.

Does Les Diabolique belong in the 250?

Without a doubt. Not only is this one of the best thrillers I have seen, but it never loses it's appeal. I've seen this film a half dozen times and it is just as good each time that I see it.

Final Words

Being a fan of the work of director Alfred Hitchcock, it was his commentary on Les Diabolique that lead me to see the film. Hitchcock called this film one of his greatest influences when making Psycho, which is one of my all-time favorite films. While the influence is plainly seen, the two films plots are actually rather different. Overall, I find this film to be superb. If more thrillers were made like this film, I feel like the genre would gain some more credibility. This film comes very highly recommended!

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