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Credits
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Summary
Having been pushed into marrying her sickly cousin at an early age, Thérèse
Raquin is trapped in a life of boredom without passion or fulfilment. She works
in her husband’s haberdashery in Lyons and lives with the bullying aunt who forced her
into the loveless marriage. One day she meets Laurent, a handsome Italian lorry driver,
with whom she falls instantly in love. Laurent implores Thérèse to
leave her husband, but the faithful wife knows that whilst her husband is still alive
they can never be united. Then an opportunity arises for Thérèse to
get rid of her husband...
Review
Thérèse Raquin is one of the few films made by Marcel Carné
after World War II which has the stature of his earlier triumphs. With its tale
of doomed love in an atmosphere-laden setting, the film is unmistakably Carné.
As in many of his films, the protagonists are victims in a cruel game of fate, cruelly
denied the freedom and happiness they struggle to achieve for themselves.
The sombre poetry of Carné’s earlier films is subordinated to suspense drama, reflecting the increasing popularity in French cinema of the thriller genre. The film’s pessimistic tone is perhaps a little dated by 1953 when the film was released, but it carries an unmistakable sense of conviction, making this a compelling and moving drama. The film earned Carné a Silver Lion award at the 1953 Venice film festival. With impeccable acting performances, most notably from Simone Signoret and Raf Vallone, an excellent script from Charles Spaak, and Carné’s near-faultless direction, this is a classic film which does justice to the Émile Zola novel on which it is based. © James Travers 2001
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