Film Review
With Marcel Carné's
La Marie du port (1950) proving
to be a substantial box office hit in France, Jean Gabin once again
found stardom beckoning, after a decade in which he came very close to
passing into obscurity. Gabin's next film,
Victor, offers a similar scenario
of a middle-aged man falling for a much younger woman, adapted from a
stage play by Henri Bernstein. On this occasion, Gabin is
partnered with rising star Brigitte Auber, who had previously featured
in Jacques Becker's
Rendez-vous de juillet (1949)
and would later be recruited by Alfred Hitchcock for a substantial role
in
To Catch a Thief (1955).
The Gabin we see here is scarcely recognisable as the romantic idealist
of his pre-WWII years. Well into middle-age, somewhat stouter,
this new Gabin carried something of the disillusionment of post-war
France, reluctant to trust others, reluctant to pursue his dreams, in
short a Teflon-coated pragmatist. As the decade wore on, Gabin's
screen image would become even tougher, even less romantic, so that by
the 1960s he came to look like the godfather of French
cinema. In the early 1950s, some of Gabin's erstwhile
boyish charm and gentility remained, allowing the actor to bring to a
touching vulnerability to his portrayals of men hoping to reboot their
lives in early middle-age, often with the help of an attractive young
woman.
Victor may not
be Gabin's most distinguished screen outing but it is a film with
considerable charm, directed with skill by Claude Heymann and
well-performed by an admirable cast. Françoise Christophe
deserves a special mention for her subtly moving portrayal of a woman
who puts material comfort before passion, and lives to regret it.
© James Travers 2013
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
When he leaves prison, Victor refuses to bear a grudge against his old
friend Marc, the man whose dodgy business dealings but him there.
He isn't even prepared to steal his wife, Françoise, even though
he still carries a torch for her. He just wants to start a new
life and put his past worries behind him. Unfortunately,
Françoise has by now come to realise how much Victor loves her
and intends to divorce Marc so that they can marry. Victor
manages to dissuade her and begins to fall for a young typist,
Marianne. When Marc gets himself into another financial scandal,
he opts to commit suicide, freeing Françoise to marry
Victor...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.