This handsome psychological mystery might have been remarkable if only it had:
A) some plausible psychology, and
B) a worthwhile mystery.
Instead, all it offers is a lot of self-conscious style and a compelling performance by Michel Blanc, playing a pathologically anti-social tailor (and murder suspect) who develops a voyeuristic obsession with Sandrine Bonnaire. The story (loosely based on a George Simenon novel) could have presented an intriguing game between the observer and the observed, but because the guilty party is identified too soon the final resolution is more sensible than surprising. The film, by design, is even more cool and detached than its title character, setting an effective mood with its claustrophobic wide-screen photography, but the lack of any adequate background puts all the action in a (very attractive) void. In the end it amounts to little more than a big tease with no real payoff: the climactic, final 15 minutes are no more special than the first 73.
A) some plausible psychology, and
B) a worthwhile mystery.
Instead, all it offers is a lot of self-conscious style and a compelling performance by Michel Blanc, playing a pathologically anti-social tailor (and murder suspect) who develops a voyeuristic obsession with Sandrine Bonnaire. The story (loosely based on a George Simenon novel) could have presented an intriguing game between the observer and the observed, but because the guilty party is identified too soon the final resolution is more sensible than surprising. The film, by design, is even more cool and detached than its title character, setting an effective mood with its claustrophobic wide-screen photography, but the lack of any adequate background puts all the action in a (very attractive) void. In the end it amounts to little more than a big tease with no real payoff: the climactic, final 15 minutes are no more special than the first 73.