Summary
Julie Kohler lures three men to their deaths to avenge the killing of her husband on her
wedding day. But there remain two others, two more deaths to arrange before her
debt can be repaid...
Review
La Mariée était en noir is Fançois Truffaut’s most blatant
homage to his hero, Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, rather than attempt to reproduce Hitchcock’s
style of film directly, Truffaut offers a curious distortion which is simultaneously intriguing
and frustrating – neither Hitchcock nor Truffaut at his best.
Jeanne Moreau plays the ice-cold femme fatale, a total contrast to her portrayal of the
passionate Catherine in Truffaut's earlier film Jules et Jim.
Truffaut’s films crudely divide into two categories: semi-autobiographical films (exemplified
by the Antoine Doinel cycle) and his crime thrillers (Tirez sur le pianiste being
the best example). La Mariée était en noir is probably the
weakest entry in this second category, although the film has many saving graces.
The film is based on a novel by William Irish, a writer who fascinated Truffaut.
The director would who later would adapt another of Irish's novels, La Sirène
du Mississippi.
Although it does not today enjoy the profile and status of some of Truffaut’s other films,
La Mariée était en noir was generally praised by the critics on its
first release and was a reasonable success in France. However, it did mark Truffaut’s
final collaboration with his talented photography director, Raoul Coutard, following some
mutual antagonism whilst making the film. In many ways, Coutard was as important
as Truffaut in creating the distinctive look of the New Wave films.
© James Travers 2000
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