Unlikely co-stars Alain Delon & Charles Bronson work a likely story that thankfully turns a bit unlikely once past midpoint. This odd couple are strangers, just out of the military with an opposites attract vibe that leads to doing a good deed for the girlfriend of a pal Delon says he doesn’t know. The good deed? Return a stash of stolen cash certificates to the basement safe of a Paris office building. But the job only looks interesting to Bronson when Delon mentions two mill in cash being held in the same vault over the long Christmas break. Standard commercial fare from director Jean Herman (a bit ZOOM happy and falling for that back-of-the-safe POV shot - boo!) if not without a few perverse touches from scripter Sébastien Japrisot. But the film really comes to life after the robbery goes wrong and they have to sweat their way (much torso flaunting by the boys) only to find a dead guard they didn’t kill and not find the girlfriend. Turns out it was all a set up . . . but for whom? And who’s to say the guys will stick to their story if caught. Give Japrisot credit for making this come off, along with those charismatic stars: Delon often calling Bronson ‘Pop;’ Bronson apparently doing his own French dialogue; content to fake us out with a few mid-scenario twists, along with a neat turn from Bernard Fresson as the intuitive Inspector who tries to play fair on his own terms. Conventional stuff, but fun if you stick with it.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: For the perennially underrated Bronson, 1968 was the year of ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST; for Delon, the underrated Edgar Allen Poe portmanteau SPIRITS OF THE DEAD. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2009/07/spirits-of-dead-histoires.html
No comments:
Post a Comment