1958 was a busy year for Jeanne Moreau, as she debuted no less than four films. This "Le Dos Au Mur", by Édouard Molinaro, was the third, curiously placed between two fundamental works by Louis Malle, which would take Moreau, Malle and the nouvelle vague to stardom, "Ascenseur Por l'Échafaud" and "Les Amants" .
Out of curiosity, I mention that Moreau's first film of the year was also a Noir, "Échec Au Porteur" by Gilles Grangier.
In addition to Moreau's predestination for Noir, at least in 1958, attenuated only by "Les Amants", which despite being, essentially, a love film, still contains a story of adultery and above all the abandonment of her children, by the adulterous mother, that shocked spectators at the time, it is necessary to emphasize the profound differences between Molinaro's Noir and Malle's.
"Le Dos Au Mur" is a conventional Noir, albeit with a good script. The plot is tortuous, vengeful, cynical and everything seems to go as planned, until one detail ruins everything, as is characteristic of a good thriller. The film is good, the way the story is told is intelligent, as it accentuates the perversity of the characters, but it is still a late replica of American Noir. Of good Noir, naturally, far from a common B series.
However, if Moreau here is also an adulteress, she is much more victim than executioner, except in the final revenge, in a last act of desperation. The characters she embodies in Malle's works are much more complex. She is the force that manipulates men, that plans, that generates and feeds intrigue. She is a fascinating and seductive amoral creature, never a victim.
"Le Dos Au Mur" is an excellent Noir, but traditional. The cinematographic language is typical of the genre, with no evidence of the nouvelle vague, and the main character, who stands out most for his vindictive amorality and deviousness, is the deceived husband, played superiorly by Gérard Oury.
Molinaro's Noir and Malle's, made in the same year and with the same protagonist, belong to different times, the past and the future.
And the most curious thing is that they are both excellent. Even if one venerates Malle's originality and boldness, one cannot fail to recognize Molinaro's competence in filming a good script.
