Anyone worried that the traditional French psychological thriller--so memorable in the work of Clouzot and Chabrol--might be in decline can rest easy, as young CJdric Kahn's Red Lights is a topnotch addition to the genre. Adapted from a novel by the prolific Georges Simenon, the film serves up a character study of Antoine Dunan (sad-faced everyman Jean-Pierre Darroussin), a generally meek businessman who grows surly and inebriated as he and his wife HJlPne undertake a long drive over a crowded holiday weekend to retrieve their children from camp. As the trip proceeds, the tempers of both spouses flare over the most minor things, and HJlPne eventually goes off on her own--and disappears. In his desperate attempt to find her, Antoine meets a man who just might be the escaped convict the radio keeps talking about. In typically French fashion, things don't happen as you'd predict, nor is Kahn's stylish, subdued direction anything like the sledgehammer approach a Hollywood filmmaker would have brought to the material. What makes the film extraordinary is Darroussin's shrewdly observed performance, which mixes inarticulate rage with an odd reticence and growing anxiety as the movie gradually develops its delicious frisson of quiet, everyday menace. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)
Red Lights
Wellspring, 106 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, VHS or DVD: $29.98, Mar. 22 Volume 20, Issue 2
Red Lights
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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