Diabolically Yours

When a viewer watches a thriller directed by Julien Duvivier with Alain Delon and Senta Berger, his or her expectation is of at least of a great film. Unfortunately the swan song of Mr. Duvivier is an absolutely flawed and deceptive film, with a terrible storyline and a screenplay with many plot holes and lack of character development. The situations are absurd and unbelievable and the open ending disappointing. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Diabolicamente Tua" ("Diabolically Yours")

Right from the opening credits (which, by the way, are very cool; notice how the words seem to respond rhythmically to the music), it's easy to see that this film bears a striking resemblance to the 1991 thriller "Shattered": we have a car accident, a woman who mysteriously survives without a scratch and a man who gets badly injured, develops amnesia, and tries to piece together the puzzle of his previous life but senses that something isn't quite right, something doesn't add up. The plot is enigmatic and twisty but has some holes, and it won't fool anyone who's previously seen "Shattered" (or "Gaslight", for that matter). But Duvivier's innovative direction makes this a surprisingly undated thriller. Alain Delon gives one of his liveliest performances...and who could forget to mention Senta Berger's terrific body? (***)

One never knows the truth of this thriller until it nearly ends, even when it is already over everyone is free to imagine the fate of the survivors. A person, supposedly George Campos (Alain Delon), had an a car accident and is hospitalized for a while. When he recovered his conscience he does not recognize his wife Christiane (Senta Berger), his friend Freddie (a psychiatrist) and all his properties. In that situation he acknowledged the beautifulness of his wife and decided to have sex with her, but she always unreasonably prevented it. Time passed and slowly George Campos remembered his real name, Pierre Lagrange. The psychiatrist warned him that he himself is G. Campo, but the latter had already no doubt of being poor ex-soldier Lagrange. One of the reasons was that his supposedly dog did not ever recognize him. He decided not to take anymore the recommended pills and discovered all truth. Among the thrillers in the French cinema this is perhaps one of its best.

For his last movie, Julien Duvivier invites Alain Delon, Senta Berger, and... color! This astonishing film is truly dazzling by the beauty of its plans and by its light. Too bad Duvivier didn't have the chance to make more color films.. True to his habit, the talented Duvivier leads us by the nose in a story full of pretenses, lies and manipulations. The beauty of the actors and the sets sharply contrasts with the unhealthy relationships between the characters ... An absolute must see!

The movie begins with a car crash.Soon after,Duvivier would die in a car crash too.It was the second time he 'd experimented color and

directed Alain Delon (who was part of the cast of "le devil and the ten commandments",a film made up of sketches ,Duvivier's forte.) Julien Duvivier is my all-time favorite French director .His career encompasses the silent era,the glorious thirties when he produced one masterpiece a year ,an American era in the forties.In the fifties he 's best remembered for his "Don Camillo" saga but one should not forget his films noirs extraordinaire ("Sous le ciel de Paris" and "Voici le temps des assassins").Then there was the nouvelle vague which was always putting him down.Delon reportedly said he'd suffered from their contempt.He shouldn't have bothered:he's better than any of them.And Claude Chabrol is certainly his psychic son as he is Hitchcock's or Clouzot's.

"Diaboliquement votre" is a poor swansong though.Duvivier's indomitable pessimism can be felt when he denies (and it's not the first time:almost all Duvivier works have a bitter end)the audience the de rigueur happy end ,but his magic touch is almost absent here.Delon portrays a framed man :a distant relative of George Peppard in Jack Smight's "the third day" (1966) and Tom Berenger in "shattered",his wife (Senta Berger)refuses to give herself to him after a car crash.But is she really his wife?And what about these strange voices he can hear at night?This shady doctor who calls him his friend?This Chinese servant?This kind of screenplay needs talented writers ,like Boileau-Narcejac ("Diabolique" "Vertigo" ) ,Frédéric Dard ("Toi le venin") or John Dickson Carr whose " burning court" Duvivier had transferred to the screen in 1962.Louis Thomas whose book I've not read is not in the same league.His tricks are roughly done:the tape recorder,the dog,the trap door..All the plot seems to sink into the pool of the desirable mansion.

Delon's presence,Berger's beauty and a nice cinematography make the movie watchable.But Duvivier had done so much so much better that I urge French movies buffs to see his finest works,which Orson Welles himself admired.