Regarde les hommes tomber
1994 Crime Drama   
 
  • Director: Jacques Audiard
  • Script: Jacques Audiard, Alain Le Henry, based on the novel "Triangle" by Teri White
  • Photo: Gérard Sterin
  • Music: Alexandre Desplat
  • Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant (Marx), Jean Yanne (Simon), Mathieu Kassovitz (Johnny), Bulle Ogier (Louise), Christine Pascal (Sandrine), Yvon Back (Mickey), Yves Verhoeven (Homosexual), Marc Citti (Informer), Roger Mollien (Marlon), Pierre Guillemin (Mr. Vernoux), Philippe Du Janerand (Merlin), Rywka Wajsbrot (Mme Rajenski)
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Runtime: 90 min
  • Aka: See How They Fall
 
 
 
Summary
A middle-aged sales rep, Simon Hirsch, is on the trail of the men who murdered a cop who was a friend of his.  The assassins are a pair of drop-outs: a gambler and a younger man with mental problems.  The events leading up to the murder are interwoven with Hirsch's obsessive quest, in what turns out to be dark study of three unhappy, warped individuals.

Review
Regarde les hommes tomber is a deliciously dark study in obsession and survival, a good example of modern French film noir.  Jean Yanne's portrayal of Hirsch is both disturbing and sympathetic and Jean-Louis Trintignant is just scary, a very unusual role for this actor.  Mathieu Kassovitz’s character, an innocent in a very black world, adds a genuine comic touch to what would otherwise have been a pretty run-of-the-mill crime drama.

Although the film is let down by a mediocre script, the unusual way in which the film is shot and constructed makes it a compelling and surprising piece of cinema.

The film won a respectable three Césars in 1995, with awards for best debut film for Audiard, best new actor (Kassovitz) and best editing.

© James Travers 2006


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