Film Review
With his adaptation of Jean de La Varende's 1936 historical novel
Nez-de-Cuir, director Yves
Allégret shows little of the flair of his previous films and
appears content to turn out a routine 'quality' melodrama, of the kind
that the young firebrand critic François Truffaut would rail
against in his famous diatribes.
Nez de cuir has some stunning
production values (the sets and costumes are excellent), an admirable
cast headed by Jean Marais, one of France's most respected actors, and
yet it fails to have much of an impact. The main problem is an
over-wordy script that has too many scenes in which two characters sit
(or stand) exchanging huge, mostly uninteresting chunks of dialogue for
what seems like an eternity. How the actors managed to stay awake
during some of these verbal exchanges is anyone's guess.
Allégret makes some half-hearted attempts to connect the film
with Cocteau's
La Belle et la Bête
(1946), which might explain Marais' casting in the lead role, but
because most of the acting is unflinchingly monotonous and the script
so horrendously stilted you scarcely notice any similarity with
Cocteau's film. Lavish in its design but almost intolerably
insipid in every other department,
Nez
de cuir is an almost perfect example of the kind of soulless
cinéma de qualité
that the Nouvelle vague would react against.
© James Travers, Willems Henri 2014
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Next Yves Allégret film:
Les Orgueilleux (1953)
Film Synopsis
Among the many who lie dead or dying on a battlefield in 1814 is Roger
de Tinchebraye. Although he survives his injuries, Roger is badly
scarred and Dr Marchal can do nothing to save his once beautiful
face. Before the war, Roger was a great womaniser but now he must
hide his face behind a leather mask. Although everyone calls him
Leather-nose, Roger finds he still has lost none of his powers of
seduction. His charm is intact and he has acquired a certain
mystique which women are captivated by. One of his latest
admirers is Hélène Josias, whose niece Judith is also
attracted to him and even dreams of marrying him. Roger is moved
by the young woman's proposal but cannot accept, for he knows he can
never remain faithful to one woman. When Judith accepts an offer
of marriage from the older Marquis de Brives, Roger realises that he
loves her and conceives a plan to stay close to her...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.