Jean Gabin and Alain Delon certainly had a 'dynamic' in their two previous films for Henri Verneuil and as anticipated this third pairing proved successful at the box-office. This time round alas the director is José Giovanni. His contributions to the gangster genre as a writer, based upon his own criminal past, are indisputable and have been interpreted by some of the finest French directors and actors. As a director however he is nothing more than capable.
The main problem with this particular film is that in order to get his message across Giovanni has laid on the sentimentality with a trowel, almost embarassingly so. Adopting the role of moral crusader against the French judicial system and the death penalty is something that André Cayatte did much more subtly and to far greater effect. The film is further weakened by Philippe Sarde's syrupy score.
As for the performances Messieurs Gabin and Delon do what they do extremely well. As the ex-con trying unsuccessfully to shake off his past, Delon engages our sympathy and it is indeed ironic that he was supposedly in favour of capital punishment. Gabin never lost the compulsion to work but here he appears to have trouble staying awake. Not for the first time or indeed the last, it is the mesmerising Michel Bouquet who walks away with the film. He is utterly chilling as the odious Inspector Goitreau who pursues the Gino of Delon with a vengeance in the same way that Javert hounds Valjean. Of course Bouquet was to follow in the footsteps of Vanel, Laughton and Blier when playing that role opposite the Valjean of Lino Ventura.
Giovanni remained cagey about his past especially the time he spent on death row, understandably so, as he and a Vichy collaborator, blackmailer and convicted triple murderer named Joseph Damiani were eventually revealed to be one and the same man!
In view of this I would advise when watching his films to keep your moral compass handy. They say that crime doesn't pay but in his case it decidedly did.
The main problem with this particular film is that in order to get his message across Giovanni has laid on the sentimentality with a trowel, almost embarassingly so. Adopting the role of moral crusader against the French judicial system and the death penalty is something that André Cayatte did much more subtly and to far greater effect. The film is further weakened by Philippe Sarde's syrupy score.
As for the performances Messieurs Gabin and Delon do what they do extremely well. As the ex-con trying unsuccessfully to shake off his past, Delon engages our sympathy and it is indeed ironic that he was supposedly in favour of capital punishment. Gabin never lost the compulsion to work but here he appears to have trouble staying awake. Not for the first time or indeed the last, it is the mesmerising Michel Bouquet who walks away with the film. He is utterly chilling as the odious Inspector Goitreau who pursues the Gino of Delon with a vengeance in the same way that Javert hounds Valjean. Of course Bouquet was to follow in the footsteps of Vanel, Laughton and Blier when playing that role opposite the Valjean of Lino Ventura.
Giovanni remained cagey about his past especially the time he spent on death row, understandably so, as he and a Vichy collaborator, blackmailer and convicted triple murderer named Joseph Damiani were eventually revealed to be one and the same man!
In view of this I would advise when watching his films to keep your moral compass handy. They say that crime doesn't pay but in his case it decidedly did.