Jef, a meticulous professional hitman, is hired to knock off a Paris club owner during the evening’s entertainment, but his escape is clocked by several members of the staff. Fortunately for the killer, none get a very close look at him, and he’s turned loose after witnesses can’t manage a positive ID. The lead detective isn’t ready to let things go so easily, however, and his continued inquiries spook Jef’s clientele and stretch his seemingly-waterproof alibi to its limits.
A sparse, moody play on the old cat-and-mouse game, Le Samouraï is essentially a quiet duel between smart, studious professionals. Both well-versed in the art of conspiracy, they jab and feint like veteran boxers, seeking weaknesses in the other’s guard while cautiously shoring up their own defenses. Increasingly paranoid, Jef scarcely has time to cover his tracks before the detective (or an emissary of his unhappy employer) comes along to poke holes and kick dirt.
I’ll normally lose interest in slower-paced foreign films like this, with their limited plots and heavy reliance on atmosphere, but there’s something different about this one. Watching two perfectly-prepared parallels work the angles and improvise was just enough to keep me engaged and curious. Riveted? No. Impressed? Maybe a little. I think the greater value of this film is in its influence upon later directors. John Woo, for example, practically remade the film for 1989’s The Killer.
Well, after watching The Driver I felt compelled to finally catch up with Le Samourai. The two aren’t really in the same league. Where The Driver is a slightly-too-hardboiled gritty thriller, Le Samourai is a slick, faultless production.
Alain Delon plays hit man Jef Costello, who gets spotted leaving the scene of the crime. He has a solid alibi though, and the witnesses give differing opinions as to his identity, so the police have to let him go. Nevertheless, a persistent police chief has him tailed, in an attempt to gather more evidence, or even catch him in the act of another job.
Melville draws from so many places to make Le Samourai work. There’s the Film Noir femme fatale, the cat and mouse chase, but also there’s American gangster movie elements to the film, set to a 60s French pop culture backdrop. With all that, he still manages to find his own voice. Just as Jef carefully plans his every move, Melville meticulously constructs every frame in the film.
Delon is a cool character, and makes Ryan O’Neal look like a pale imitator. Jef has a few more words to say but there’s still very little dialogue in Le Samourai. However he gives off the air of a man who knows his stuff; the script allows actions to speak louder than words. Everything he does is deliberate, he’s always ahead of the game. It’s transfixing to watch, and we’re always waiting to see how he’s going to react to the next situation.
Something about this film absolutely captivated me. The music, the lighting, the acting - it’s all so beautiful, original and yes, cool. An instant favourite.
http://benoliver999.com/film/2016/01/23/lesamourai/
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2024-04-01T10:28:05Z
Minimalistic but tense, one of those movies where its appeal lies more in the approach rather than the story. Melville's use of grey and dark blue is great, he's almost like a French Michael Mann. For as simple as the story is, the writing is pretty great. The script constantly places the protagonist in interesting situations and I love how the lack of dialogue makes the story unfold more naturally. I think it's those two aspects what separate this from something like The Killer. The third act in particular is so well staged and tense, I wish more films used the Parisian subway as their mise en scene. Still, it's not a perfect film, as there's occasionally tension between the genre elements and the serious, slow tone. It's a similar complaint I have with some of Fincher's and Mann's work, they all seem a little ashamed of making genre films. Take the protagonist, who's written and dressed like a stereotype. Maybe that's an intentional choice, but it's certainly not the most emotionally engaging. There's also a few moments during the police line-up scene early on where the staging feels too cheesy compared to the rest of the film. None of that's a huge dealbreaker, and the contrast certainly isn't as apparent as in a movies like Seven or Cure, but maybe leaning more into the silliness would've been to its benefit.
7.5/10