L’Incorrigible (1975) - film review

Within minutes of being released from prison, Victor Vautier resumes his career as a confidence trickster and crook.  An incorrigible liar and master of disguise, he rents his former girlfriend’s luxury apartment to an American ambassador and sells non-existent military aircraft to an African state.   When things get too hot to handle, he sneaks back to his adopted uncle, Camille, who lives the life of a hermit in a caravan in a field.  Victor’s life takes an unexpected turn for the better when he is assigned a parole officer, Marie-Charlotte.   Learning that Marie-Charlotte’s father is the curator of a museum which holds a priceless El Greco triptych, the reclusive Camille sees a golden opportunity to obtain the money he needs to fulfil his life-long dream: to build a wall around the island of Mont St Michel...

L’Incorrigible was the fifth collaboration between director Philippe de Broca and French film star Jean-Paul Belmondo, who had previously enjoyed phenomenal success with such films as L’Homme de Rio (1964) and Le Magnifique (1973).   L’Incorrigible was to mark the end of this happy run of success – the actor-director relationship broke down during the making of this film, and de Broca himself was far from satisfied with the end result.

L’Incorrigible was envisaged as a mix of crime thriller and comedy (de Broca initially approached Lino Ventura to play the lead role but was turned down).  However, thanks largely to Belmondo’s influence, the comic side took over and the quality of the film suffered as a result.   On the plus side, the film has some great comic moments and some brilliant dialogue (if you ignore the sickeningly bad jokes about rape).  However, its uneven pacing and Belmondo’s outrageously over-the-top performance are mildly irritating and mar the experience somewhat.

Fortunately, the rapport between Belmondo and his co-stars (notably the magnificent Julien Guiomar and Geneviève Bujold) is excellent and prevents the film from being entirely a one man show.  The film’s highlights include: Belmondo turning up at the opera in top hat and cloak, Belmondo running across Paris in nothing but a sheet, Belmondo doing a side-splitting impression of Fernandel, and Belmondo trying to hold on to his dignity whilst dressed up as a transvestite in a red-light district of Paris.  It has to be seen to be believed.

© James Travers 2002

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