Review of Serie Noire

Serie Noire (1979)
5/10
A hell of a woman
13 December 2012
Warning: Spoilers
French slacker Franck Poupart is having a hard time as a door-to-door salesman. Basically, his merchandise is of doubtful quality. One day, while driving in a suburban area, he spots a beautiful woman on a window. He decides to stop by the house. An older lady answers the door. From what Franck shows her she decides on a house coat. As a form of payment, the old woman offers him to go upstairs, where Mona is happy to oblige, getting completely naked, a feast for Patrick's eyes, but he refuses to do anything. As he leaves the house, the old lady suggests he brings her a warm winter coat.

At home, Franck's life is in disarray. Not only is his house something of a mess, his life with his wife, Jeanne, has seen better days. After a confrontation where he slaps her, Jeanne decides to walk out. At work, Franck is in trouble with his boss, Staplin, who clearly realizes his employee is up to no good, who cannot even collect from a poor man, Tikides, the money for the suit of inferior material he got from Franck.

Abandoned by Jeanne, Franck gets a visit from Mona. She tells him about the possibility of getting some easy money from the older woman. The plot involves Tikides, who after a drinking bout with the salesman, is ready for anything. Franck has a confrontation with the lady, something that ends badly. He never finds money in the house, but he gets a gun under the mattress.

Alain Corneau neonoir film showed up recently on cable. Not having seen it, we decided to take a look. "Series Noir" is somewhat dated. The copy shown had a faded look to it, that together with the depressing atmosphere of the staging, did not contribute to its enjoyment. Patrick Dewaere's appearance was what motivated this viewer to watch it. This actor, who sadly disappeared much too early, gives an intense reading to his Franck. We found him somewhat irritating in his approach to this scumbag he was portraying, although, judging from other comments we are in the minority. Same could be said of Marie Trintignant's Mona. The great Bernard Blier is excellent as the boss. The adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel was written by the director and Georges Perec.
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