For her first full-length film, director Catherine Corsini made a spirited attempt to
combine film noir and psychological drama, drawing inspiration from contemporary American
thrillers. Her innovation was to place a strong yet vulnerable young woman in a setting
which traditionally had been the reserve of tough men - most of her subsequent
films would revolve around a strong central female character.
Poker disappoints on a number of counts, its main letdown being
a plot that is too contrived and mechanical to take seriously. The
characterisation is lamentably weak, and even though film noir is known
for its flagrant archetypes you do expect the characters to have
some semblance of individuality and that their motives will become
apparent to us. The characters
(even the charismatic lead admirably portrayed by Caroline Cellier)
behave in a way that is hard to fathom and consequently struggle to retain our
interest as they merely undertake what the narrative requires of them
like mindless automata.
Although the film was a commercial failure, Catherine Corsini subsequently
went on to make some respectable television films in the 1990s before returning to cinema,
with somewhat greater success, in the following decade, with films that include
La Nouvelle Ève (1999),
La Répétition (2001)
and Partir (2009).
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Film Synopsis
Hélène is a Paris tourist guide who is addicted to gambling.
One day, she loses fifty thousand francs in one session whilst playing poker
with a gangster named Tonio. He gives her just twenty-four hours to
clear the debt. Knowing full well what she risks if she fails to meet
the deadline, Hélène is ready to do anything to raise the money.
Miraculously, it is her brother who comes to her rescue when he shows up
at her apartment unexpectedly with a bag of stolen banknotes. Not one
to look a gift horse in the mouth, Hélène steals the money
and hands it over to Tonio. It is only after she has done this that
she realises the notes are forged. Unluckily for her, Tonio is not
the forgiving type...
Cast: Caroline Cellier (Hélène),
Pierre Arditi (Duke),
Jean-Philippe Écoffey (Stéphane),
Jacques Mathou (Tonio),
André Julien (Louis),
François Berléand (L'avocat),
Francis Arnaud (Dominique),
Charlie Nelson (Maurice),
Catherine Corringer (Jo),
Henri Poirier (André-Marie),
Michelle Brûlé,
Catherine Corsini,
Daniel Langlet,
Madeleine Marion,
Dominique Reymond,
Boguslawa Schubert,
Khoudia Seye,
Georges Trillat,
Catherine Zambon
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 90 min
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