Film Review
It was immediately after he concluded his seven year stint as
production manager to François Truffaut that Claude Miller made
his own directing debut, with a film which, like Truffaut's own debut
feature, drew heavily on its author's childhood experiences.
La Meilleure façon de marcher
is a daring and surprisingly mature film for a novice filmmaker, one
which explores, with immense subtlety and honesty, issues of gender
identity and male conflict. It is a film that takes the familiar
stereotypes and rips them to pieces, showing that human nature is far
more complex and far more ambiguous than most films would have us
believe. Miller would frequently revisit the subject of identity
in his subsequent work, but rarely would he grasp the nettle quite so
fearlessly as he does in this remarkable first film.
When we first meet them, the main protagonists in the film, Marc and
Philippe, look like the most egregious extremes of male
stereotyping. The first is a macho, sports obsessed lout
who revels in filthy jokes and regards reading as self-abuse for
intellectuals. The second is a sensitive, artistic type who
loathes sport and is repulsed by vulgarity, plus he likes dressing up
in women's clothing. The two characters have absolutely nothing
in common and their antipathy for one another is evident right from the
start. With the few miniscule brain cells that he has at his
disposal, Marc soon arrives at the conclusion that Philippe is a closet
homosexual and is naturally shocked, if not incredulous, to learn that
he has a girlfriend (and a stunner at that).
Marc may play the alpha male for all it is worth but his sexuality is
even more ambiguous than Philippe's, and when he agrees to kiss and
make up with Philippe it is quite evident that there is a darker
meaning to his offer to exchange favours with his unlikely buddy.
It is this angst-ridden uncertainty of who they really are which draws
Marc and Philippe to one another and locks them in a relationship of
mutual sadomasochistic dependency. Why does Philippe put up with
the relentless humiliation that Marc doles out to him? Why
doesn't Marc ever get bored with bullying a man he considers his
inferior in every sense of the word? The answer soon becomes
apparent. Both characters are desperately searching for an
identity and they each
see the other as the key that will unlock his own personal
mystery. (The impression that Marc and Philippe are two of a kind
is reinforced by the fact that the actors playing them have,
coincidentally, the same first name.)
Miller not only directed the film, he also wrote the screenplay, in
collaboration with Luc Béraud, who worked on several of his
subsequent films. Whilst the direction and writing both
have much to commend them, it is evident that the film's main
selling point is the inspired casting of Patrick Dewaere and Patrick
Bouchitey for the two main roles. Dewaere needs no introduction -
he is so adept at playing complex, self-destructive mavericks that it
is hard to imagine anyone else for the part of Marc (although Miller
did originally consider Philippe Léotard). In what is
probably his most unsympathetic screen portrayal, Dewaere does just
about everything an actor can do to alienate himself from the audience
(including kicking a football straight into a child's face) and yet his
performance is as enthralling as ever and you can only admire his
commitment and courage to play the part for all it is worth.
You'd think that to play a leading role alongside an actor of Patrick
Dewaere's charisma and energy would be a pretty thankless task but
Patrick Bouchitey proves otherwise with his equally compelling
portrayal of Philippe, the effeminate, studious antagonist to Dewaere's
crude Neanderthal brute. Bouchitey succeeds in bringing as much
complexity and depth to his character as Dewaere does, and the two
portrayals complement one another perfectly whilst also evincing some
striking similarities. Beneath the surface, Philippe is just as
confused and destructive as Marc, and it isn't until the film's
dramatic denouement that we realise how alike the two characters
are. Both have the same despicable propensity for thoughtless
cruelty - it just takes a little longer for Philippe to show his true
colours and thereby break the spell that binds him to his tormentor.
Whilst Dewaere and Bouchitey take centre stage for most of the film,
Miller skilfully arranges things so that his supporting cast are not
entirely wasted. The on-going psychological duel between Marc and
Philippe is periodically gatecrashed by some badly needed moments of
light relief provided by Claude Piéplu, who is magnificent as
the summer camp's hopelessly ineffectual director. The enchanting
Christine Pascal provides another very welcome diversion in the role of
the film's one and only female character, and Michel Blanc makes an
impact in one of his very first screen portrayals, not long before he
found national celebrity through his appearances in a string of cult
comedies that included the hit
Les Bonzés.
La Meilleure façon de marcher
was both a critical and commercial success when it was first released
in 1976. The following year, it was nominated for six
Césars - in categories that included Best Film, Best Director,
Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Dewaere) - but it only won the award
for Best Cinematography (a worthy recompense for Bruno Nuytten).
Alas, Miller was unable to repeat this success with his next film,
Dites-lui que je l'aime (1977),
which proved to be an enormous flop. Miller very nearly gave up
filmmaking for good after this failure but, after a few years in the
cultural wilderness that is advertising, he returned triumphantly in
the early eighties with two films that secured his reputation as one of
France's leading auteur filmmakers
Garde à vue (1981) and
Mortelle randonnée
(1983). How does the old song go?
La meilleure façon de marcher,
c'est encore la nôtre, c'est de mettre un pied devant l'autre et
de recommencer...
© James Travers 2012
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Claude Miller film:
Garde à vue (1981)
Film Synopsis
In the summer of 1960, Marc and Philippe work as supervisors in a French summer camp for
boys. Their different methods of treating their young charges reflect their
different personalities. Marc, an extrovert bully, leads his boys as if they were
rookie soldiers, subjecting them to a gruelling schedule of sport and drill exercises.
Philippe, by contrast, is a quieter, kinder man, who is more concerned with developing
his boys' artistic talents. The two men co-exist comfortably side-by-side
until one day Marc sees Philippe dressed up as a woman in his room. From that day,
Marc is determined to make Philippe's life a misery. He humiliates Philippe
in front of his fellow supervisors and then his girlfriend, Chantal. Finally, Philippe
can take no more. His self-esteem in tatters, he is driven to take a drastic revenge
against his tormenter…
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.