Meurtres (1950) - film review

Noël Annequin is the outcast from the celebrated Annequin family.  Whilst his brothers went on to university to become an eminent doctor and lawyer, finding their way into high society, Noël stayed in the country to settle down with the woman he loved, Isabelle.  When, years later, Isabelle lies in bed, dying in agony from an incurable disease, only Noël can comfort her.  Out of pity for his wife, Noël gives her a lethal dose of medicine and informs his brothers that he wants to be tried for murder.  Terrified by the scandal this would bring to their reputation, Noël’s brothers move with lightning speed to silence him.  With Noël locked away in a lunatic asylum, what possible harm can he do them..?

Meurtres broaches the eternally controversial subject of euthanasia with the compassion and wisdom you would not have expected from the time at which it was made.  Also surprising is the ruthless manner in which is attacks bourgeois society, ridiculing its obsession with reputation and self-advancement at the sacrifice of everything that gives live its meaning.

Although there is a shade of comedy, particularly in the last reel of the film, the tone of the film is generally sober, emotionally demanding but never overly sentimental.  The most memorable scene is the one where Noël is driven to kill his wife – arguably the most moving Fernandel has undertaken in his acting career, a scene which is intensely painful to watch.   Throughout, the film demonstrates that Fernandel is as capable at taking on serious roles as the more comic roles with which he is better associated, and proves definitively that he was unquestionably one of France’s greatest and most versatile actors.

In this film, Fernandel is paired with a young, eye-catching Jeanne Moreau, in one of her earliest screen appearances.  Moreau’s celebrity would rival Fernandel’s in the following decade and her talent is more than apparent in this film.

Another strong point of this film is Henri Jeanson’s excellent script, which draws together the tragic and comic elements of the plot with great skill, creating some memorable and convincing characters.

© James Travers 2001

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