This is an example of a director/writer ruining a movie by beating us over the head to make a point. Normally this is more of a problem in American films than in those made in France - the latter usually being more subtle and thus more rewarding. Michel Bouquet's character in particular was so over the top it was silly, but Gabin's was also a cliche. These caricatures took away from what could have been a much better film. Alain Delon's great performance deserved better.
shareAbsolutely right! I don't even think Delon was good, except for a few seconds. Cliché characters all through, stiff, uninspiring direction, and that regardless if you like the message or not. (I like it in so far as I'm against capital punishment, but I don't believe society alone is responsible for all crimes)
Giovanni was a brilliant writer who couldn't direct.
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't think that this film is too heavy handed. Lets not forget it is about a very handed subject (Capital Punsihment), I believe they had to make it "heavy handed" to put the point a cross. Here in England (where I live) we have a soap opera "called Eastenders", which is also quite depressing to watch so for me it was just like watching the T.V. programme that I have just mentoned. I happen to think that that Alain Delon's perfomance was really excellent through out the film, especaially in the sceens where Gino is relased from prison and is over whelmed by the experience, when his wife died, and the also the last one when those of you who have seen this know what became of poor Gino. I have seen 43 of Alain delon's movies and this is absolutely one of his best!!!! He was very convincing. I too am against capital punishment (so much so that I commented in the did Gino deserve to die post). I think that this film is better than Giovanni's other film "Boomerang", which has almost the same story has this film.
I always hate it when a filmmaker is trying to convice me about something using all kinds of emotional tricks, I always prefer to be presented with a story that makes me think myself - such films has much deeper impact on me and they stay with me much longer. On top of that, the very direction in this film is simply bad, and if some of the performances are good it's because of the actors themselves. Giovanni was NOT a film director, he was a man rich on experiences and a good writer, but he shouldn't have been given a director's responsibility.
There has been much better films about capital punishment made in France alone, and as far as films about humanity and crime, there's nobody better than Robert Bresson - I strongly recommend "A Man Escaped", "Pickpocket" or "L'Argent", if you haven't seen them yet. They are all examples of direction that never ever uses tricks, and it works fabulously well.
As far as Britain you're probably familiar with a bunch of films related to this subject (and to each other) such as "10 Rillington Place", "Dance with a Stranger" and "Pierrepoint" - all vastly superior to Deux Hommes.
The best film about death penalty ever made, though, I think, is Kieslowski's "A Little Film about Killing", it can't be missed if one's interested in the subject. In it, the victim/criminal is a much more complex character and very far from being sympathetic, yet the punch of the film's conclusion is that much harder, you'll never forget it.
As far as Delon, his performances in films such as "L'Eclipse", "Le Samurai" or "Un Flick", just to mention a few, are all on a much higher level.
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To leforcat- I appreciate your thoughtful comments about films and specifically about cinematic treatment of the death penalty.
I would nominate the best film on the subject to be Oshima's Death by Hanging. Highly original, and I remember when I saw it in 35mm being completely blown away.
Thank you - and I'll certainly try to find Oshima's film as soon as I can!
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