Innovative director Jacques Rivette created the memorable, multi-leveled classic Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974), seemingly the inspiration for Susan Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan (1985). Rivette generates a far-different mood in this French-Swiss-Italian murder mystery. Medical researcher Sylvie (Sandrine Bonnaire) is keeping late lab hours when she catches her brother Paul (Gregoire Colin) with her gun. Having discovered a five-year-old photo with new evidence of their father's
death, Paul wants to kill Walser (Jerzy Radziwilowicz), who now heads their dad's high-tech company. To protect Paul, Sylvie decides to kill Walser herself, and she boards the train for Walser's country estate. But is Walser guilty? ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
Hermetic and somewhat opaque, this perfectly symmetrical tragedy is not for every taste. For those willing to enter the Rivette zone, however, it's a chess puzzle devised by a grand master.
As the glacially paced film inches forward with its halting conversations and accusatory glances, it tests your patience. And when the truth ultimately tumbles out and more violence erupts, don't expect a catharsis.
Thanks to Bonnaire's characteristically intelligent performance, the circumlocutions hold some interest, proving again that since her discovery by Pialat she has become the most uncompromising of French actresses.
Rivette stretches the proceedings out to 2 hours and 45 minutes, gradually revealing little bits of the puzzle to us and ending on a perfect, sublime note.
Yes, it's long, but Bonnaire holds it together with a statuesques and human performance, and whilst not Rivette's best, this is still a fascinating example of his work.
A meditative anti-thriller-cum-Electra adaptation that broods along and unravels slowly. This is easily the most conventional Rivette film, focusing more on sketching out the characters' psychological terrain than any of his other works, though the film's style and narrative structure is pure Rivette, including a set
of characters who repeats the same set of actions until the narrative reaches its conclusion. While this has served Rivette well in his films about theater and cinematic deconstruction, it works just as well here because Rivette is more interested in examining the process and circumstances causing the major narrative actions rather than the actions themselves. Bonnaire is excellent.
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