La piscine (1969)
(The Sinners)
Country: FR/IT
Technical: col 122m
Director: Jacques Deray
Cast: Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Jane Birkin
Synopsis:
Jean-Paul and Marianne holiday in unalloyed bliss and seclusion at a friend's house on the Riviera, when their former friend/lover Harry turns up noisily with his nubile daughter. Marianne enjoys the company but Jean-Paul is increasingly irked by Harry's self-adoring presence.
Review:
Taking his cue from Chekhov's loaded gun, Deray introduces us to his pool in the first Act and we just know it will 'go off' before the last. These earlier scenes of sun-drenched sensuality work best for the inevitable disruption they anticipate; once Ronet arrives with his phoney toothy grin, things settle down, become frozen even, into a stasis of drinking, eating, loafing, and Act 3 is a long time coming. Still, there is much to admire in the film-making, with its contemplation of bronzed physiques, and the droll sixties dancing has dated charmingly. Birkin is a revelation, less for her delivery than for her youthful beauty, but the movie belongs to Schneider, and to a lesser extent Delon, whose changing emotional states register subtly across their statuesque features.
(The Sinners)
Country: FR/IT
Technical: col 122m
Director: Jacques Deray
Cast: Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Jane Birkin
Synopsis:
Jean-Paul and Marianne holiday in unalloyed bliss and seclusion at a friend's house on the Riviera, when their former friend/lover Harry turns up noisily with his nubile daughter. Marianne enjoys the company but Jean-Paul is increasingly irked by Harry's self-adoring presence.
Review:
Taking his cue from Chekhov's loaded gun, Deray introduces us to his pool in the first Act and we just know it will 'go off' before the last. These earlier scenes of sun-drenched sensuality work best for the inevitable disruption they anticipate; once Ronet arrives with his phoney toothy grin, things settle down, become frozen even, into a stasis of drinking, eating, loafing, and Act 3 is a long time coming. Still, there is much to admire in the film-making, with its contemplation of bronzed physiques, and the droll sixties dancing has dated charmingly. Birkin is a revelation, less for her delivery than for her youthful beauty, but the movie belongs to Schneider, and to a lesser extent Delon, whose changing emotional states register subtly across their statuesque features.
(The Sinners)
Country: FR/IT
Technical: col 122m
Director: Jacques Deray
Cast: Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Jane Birkin
Synopsis:
Jean-Paul and Marianne holiday in unalloyed bliss and seclusion at a friend's house on the Riviera, when their former friend/lover Harry turns up noisily with his nubile daughter. Marianne enjoys the company but Jean-Paul is increasingly irked by Harry's self-adoring presence.
Review:
Taking his cue from Chekhov's loaded gun, Deray introduces us to his pool in the first Act and we just know it will 'go off' before the last. These earlier scenes of sun-drenched sensuality work best for the inevitable disruption they anticipate; once Ronet arrives with his phoney toothy grin, things settle down, become frozen even, into a stasis of drinking, eating, loafing, and Act 3 is a long time coming. Still, there is much to admire in the film-making, with its contemplation of bronzed physiques, and the droll sixties dancing has dated charmingly. Birkin is a revelation, less for her delivery than for her youthful beauty, but the movie belongs to Schneider, and to a lesser extent Delon, whose changing emotional states register subtly across their statuesque features.