Comedies about ne'er-do-wells have been around since the silent era, so French filmmaker Bertrand Blier didn't reinvent the wheel with 1974's Going Places, an adaptation (with cowriter Philippe Dumarçay) of his 1972 novel, but the film wouldn't have become an international sensation if he didn't push the envelope—and he definitely did.
Provincial slackers Jean-Claude (Gérard Depardieu) and Pierrot (Patrick Dewaere) don't just live off ill-gotten gains, they're inveterate womanizers. The comedy comes from the way their hijinks lead to emasculation, though it hardly slows them down. Throughout, Franco-Italian violinist Stéphane Grappelli adds poignancy to their misadventures with his wistful score.
They start by stealing a shopper's handbag after harassing her to tears. With no wheels to call their own, they swipe a Citroen from a businessman who shoots Pierrot in the groin (the French title, Les Valseuses, is slang for testicles). They also kidnap his date, shampoo girl/sex worker Marie-Ange (Entre Nos' Miou-Miou), leaving her with a frisky mechanic who disposes of the car, and forcing a doctor to treat Pierrot after hours—and then emptying his wallet.
They hassle a breastfeeding train passenger (Forbidden Games' Brigitte Fossey) before disembarking for an off-season resort town where they freshen up before visiting a women's prison hoping to find an ex-con too sex-starved to reject their advances. They arrive just as Jeanne (Jules et Jim's stately Jeanne Moreau) has been sprung from the joint.
At first, she ignores the duo, but they wear down her resistance. In contrast to their treatment of Marie-Ange, they treat the shell-shocked woman with respect, taking her to lunch, buying her a coat, and enjoying a night of passion, though things take a disturbing turn the next day, which leads them to her son, Jacques (Jacques Chailleux), also an ex-con, to whom they introduce the willing Marie-Ange. When things take another turn, they hit the road again, this time with their lady friend in tow.
Their final encounter involves Jacqueline (Isabelle Huppert in her first significant role), a 16-year-old on holiday with her family. She's looking for adventure and they're looking for another car, so they join forces just long enough for Jean-Claude and Pierrot to take her virginity. By the end, they've hit the road again, presumably to steal more cars--and to harass more women.
Knowing he had a good thing on his hands, Blier would reunite with Depardieu and Dewaere for the 1978 Oscar winner Get out Your Handkerchiefs. Sadly, Dewaere, who left behind a daughter with Miou-Miou, would take his life four years later.
Going Places premiered during the height of the feminist movement, and Jean-Claude and Pierrot look like relics of a rapidly changing time. If they get away with their crimes and misdemeanors, it's hard to imagine that their luck will last. In that sense, the film serves as an elegy for a dying archetype: the kind that's more fun to watch on screen than to encounter in real life.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Library programming focused on 20th-century French cinema or the careers of Bertrand Blier (the son of French character actor Bernard Blier) and Gérard Depardieu—who made seven films together—could benefit from Going Places.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
Going Places would provide a colorful example for the study of the French farce or European road trip film, like Wim Wenders' Kings of the Road, though the R rating makes it more appropriate for college and graduate-level courses.
What kind of film series would this narrative fit in?
Going Places would fit with film series on 20th-century French cinema or the filmographies of director Bertrand Blier or actors Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert—the film helped to make international stars out of all of them.