Fear of being found out is timeless

The first thing I loved about this movie is very surface level. As I said, I love an old black and white movie. There's just a charm to them that I've come to sincerely appreciate in my years. Now, this doesn't make every black and white movie good. I don't love EVERY old movie. But it's a worthwhile place to start and I think this might easily be the oldest movie that I've watched so far this year. I've eyed some of those classic Universal monster movies. The Creature from the Black Lagoon feels like it's been calling me for some reason. But until I answer that call, Diabolique takes that honor for the most senior movie I've watched. Additionally the fact that it's set in France and the entre movie is subtitled. I was tempted at one point to investigate whether there was an English audio track available but that felt like a measure of cheating and the only thing it would offer was a reprieve from reading the subtitles which kept me from investing in some useless activity on my phone to create a competing economy of attention. So the presentation in general is what I want to highlight. It's that lovely bygone age feeling that old movies elicit. There's a historical quality that allows you to travel not just to distant places but whole points in civilization that are long gone. This felt like such a welcome shift tonight and it worked perfectly.

The second thing I wanted to highlight in the movie are the points of reference that jumped out to me. As I said, it felt like Alfred Hitchcock influence jumped off the page first of all. He is one of my favorite directors of the age and genre and he just knew how to make the ordinary elements of life all the more terrifying. Thinking of his own film "Rope" with Jimmy Stewart, which has ties to the Edgar Allen Poe "Telltale Heart", which also feels exceptionally relevant to the narrative, there's a tangible amount of tension that builds throughout the film. At first it takes on a life of it's own as the main protagonists plot a murder. A nefarious act, in and of itself. But the film attempts to justify it in all the best ways that makes you sympathetic to the pair of women who were impacted so intensely by the particularly unlikable Mr. Delassalle. Walking the line of carrying out a plot to take a life is the highest stakes you can achieve. It was the first hurdle to cross. Then once we get past that, it's the getting away with it. But that's where Poe settles in for influence. The beating of that telltale heart emphasizes the madness of the plot. It's not enough to get away with it. It's the living with what you've done that makes it worse. And there is no going back. Does guilt get the better of you? Can you live with yourself? This was an act of two people, so how to you both keep your silence without turning on the other. The elevation of the tension through the rest of the film is exquisite. Traversing that narrative, especially with what seems like are some fantastic twists and turns beyond explanation only make the intensity swell.

The final part of the trio of inspirational entertainers I mentioned was Agatha Christie. I couldn't help but conjure her influence in the necessity to solve the conundrum. And I will gladly state here that I have no intention of going any further than allowing for the plot elements I've already divulged which are readily available in the context of the film. But what good is the madness if the impending nature of a crime being solved and the accompanying consequences don't turn the heat up on any guilt felt. So the need for an influence on how to bring about a compelling conclusion could not only be reached by someone as gifted as an Agatha Christie but why would you really want to entertain a lesser influence when examining a film like this. And my likening of the detective to Columbo is mostly in his penchant for benevolent curiosity and subverted investigative prowess. He's a quite likeable chap and really makes the third act of the film a good bit of fun.

As for what I didn't like, I can't really cite a lot. I found myself completely enthralled in the movie from start to finish. I will say that the down side to having to read subtitles is I feel like my eyes are glued to the bottom of the screen to keep up with the plot and dialogue. Many times I allow myself to really investigate the scenery and appreciate the nuances of character reactions and expressions and movements. There are a great many subtle elements of the visual part of a movie that you don't have as much freedom to maneuver about when tethered to constant subtitles. They are a necessary evil for this movie as I don't speak French. So I don't really fault the movie because without them I cannot enjoy any of the movie. It's just the nature of the beast and I have to accept that. It's hard to really ding the movie for that but if I have to acknowledge any shortcoming of the experience, that's easily the main one.

I'll use this space to air a sort of general gripe I have with my own limitations when it comes to older movies. I like to think I have a pretty decent beat on a lot of things but I don't know everything. This is a shortcoming I lament often. It would be so much nicer if I did just know everything. But one of my biggest frustrations in general is I don't know what life is like in France in 1955. They gave me a wonderful insight to it and none of it felt exclusionary in how it was presented. But in trying to find fault in the film, which I do not actually attribute this rant as a negative at all, I had to acknowledge the fact that there will always be a context I lose in films where I cannot relate to elements of the makeup of the film. One of my biggest beefs is the language. I obviously don't know French, but there were times that I found myself frustrated because I felt like the subtitles they provided were a reasonable estimation of translation but was curious if I wasn't missing some hidden pieces of meaning in a more direct translation. I don't know the idioms or the customs or the slang. I don't have a grasp of culture at large. It's not something that keeps me up at night because I understand I cannot know everything and readily accept that cutoff. But it does still bother me and this movie gave me a reminder of it in a way I felt like noting just because.

Ultimately, I have to give this movie an A. I loved it. I was genuinely unsure. It's from the 50's which doesn't make it automatically iffy but it was also from France. I don't shy away from foreign films but I also don't overtly indulge either. I know for many a foreign film is a staple bur for me it's a luxury many times. So there was a real gamble in this movie but I am so glad I took it and I'm so glad I got the recommendation. It's a classic piece of foreign cinema that took me on a thrilling ride. Sure, it's not your standard Halloween fare but slashers just get boring and jump scares are so played out. I love the eerie creeping tone of a tension born in realism and maintained through a certain kind of desperation, which is precisely how this film operates. I feel confident in my ability now to recommend this out to others. I'll add the caveats that it's not a standard Halloween movie like many this time of year tend to be. It is an older movie, which is not everyone's cup of tea. And it's French so that makes it very niche. But if you find yourself scaling those hurdles with relative ease and are not deterred by their presence, this film is easily one you should check out. I'd even propose that if you are hesitant, still check it out and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Whether you like it or not, the exercise of doing something counter to your own natural instincts, especially when the stakes here in reality are much lower than the for the ladies in this film, it's a fun experience in my book to try it out either way. So now we are just about two thirds of the way through October. We've got 11 days left until spooky season 2026 comes to a close. So far, this run has been pretty great. A couple hiccups along the way but I feel like the caliber of films we've seen so far this year has been really quite nice. Hopefully we can keep that up tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see. Until then, I'll catch you on the flip side.