Folle à tuer (1975)

Folle à tuer is a French thriller film first released in 1975, directed by Yves Boisset.  The film stars Marlène Jobert, Tomas Milian, Thomas Waintrop, Michel Peyrelon and Victor Lanoux.  It has also been released under the title: Mad Enough to Kill.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


Julie Ballenger has spent the last five years in a psychiatric clinic.  Leaving the clinic, apparently cured, she is engaged by a wealthy industrialist, Mostri, to work as a governess to his young nephew, Thomas.  The boy is heir to a huge fortune after the recent death of his wealthy parents, in mysterious circumstances.   During a visit to a park, Julie and Thomas are kidnapped at gun-point and driven away to deserted quarry.  The two hostages manage to escape, but are closely pursued by an armed killer...

A full decade before Claude Berri’s film Jean de Florette (and the Stella Artois ads it inspired) turned an extract from Verdi’s opera The Force of Destiny into a cliché for French provincial life, Yves Boisset used the same theme to introduce his thriller Folle à tuer - probably with greater effect.

This film, a faithful adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette’s novel, is a tense, fast-moving thriller-drama, with fine characterisation and a satisfying twist at the end – in short, a perfect example of the French thriller or polar français.

The film’s strength lies partly in its acting performances – Marlène Jobert is superb as the vulnerable Julie – but also in its plotting and realisation.  There is a palpable sense of menace throughout the film, and the chase sequence is brilliantly executed.

However, Boisset’s masterstroke is using Verdi’s music – it seems to fit so perfectly and adds greatly to the atmosphere.

© James Travers 2000

Write a review for this film...


What do you think of this film?

More French Drama
More French Thriller
Recent DVD releases