La Garce (1984)

La Garce is a French thriller film first released in 1984, directed by Christine Pascal.  The film stars Isabelle Huppert, Richard Berry, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Jean Benguigui and Jean-Claude Leguay.  Our overall rating for this film is: mediocre.


A police detective, Lucien Sabatier, is sent to prison for six years for raping a young woman, Aline, even though she was a consenting partner.  When he leaves prison, Lucien is engaged as a private detective to investigate a successful couturier, Édith Weber.  He is surprised to discover that Madame Weber turns out to be none other than the woman he raped six years ago...

La Garce is essentially a conventional crime thriller which, although well photographed and well acted, seems to lack depth and imagination.  The behaviour of the film’s central characters – particularly Lucien and Aline – isn’t properly explained and the film’s ending just seems to leave too many questions unanswered.

However, whilst the characterisation is a little shallow, the performances from the film’s stars, Richard Berry and Isabelle Huppert, are enjoyable and both actors show their worth in what are clearly two very difficult roles.  The moody photography and a typically threatening performance from Italian actor Vittorio Mezzogiorno give the film its slightly sinister edge.

© James Travers 2000

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