Three Murderesses (1959) Poster

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5/10
a minor ignominy of a French film
bazarov2423 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
THREE of France's more attractive and unbash-young female stars are put to a minor ignominy in the French film, "Women Are Weak" ("Faibles Femmes"), an intended comedy in color. They are made tochase madly and shamelessly after a character, played by Alain Delon, who is supposed to be thoroughly fascinating, but, for our francs, is not.

This young man, whom some genius press agents of the time had helpfully tagged "the French James Dean," has long, silky hair, high cheekbones and a loose-jointed, soigné air. In close-ups (of which there are many), he smiles come-hitherly and generally is condescending towards the lovelies, who simply flip for him. He rides a motorcycle and affects the hauteur of a "cat." Under Michel Boisrond's intense direction, he is intensely the focus of the show.

But the point is too labored and obvious. The impression soon sets in that this is primarily an effort to promote a new glamour boy. And the fact that the rest of the picture, the story and dialogue, lacks subtlety and wit—is, indeed, downright foolish in its pretense of male attractiveness—finishes it.

There are other annoying aspects. It is apparent that producer Paul Graetz and M. Boisrond, the director, have endeavored to pump some cheap eroticism into it. There is a swimming-pool scene, full of young folk as near nudist as the law allows, which contains some rather seamy shenanigans between the hero and a newly married girl. And there is another scene in which the hero is pounced upon by the three dames and given such a rough-housing as might worry the circumspect.

Fortunately, the girls are fetching. Mylene Demonget is perhaps the most wholesome-looking and impressive. She is the beautiful blonde who was last seen here in "Witches of Salem." She's got the reach and everything on M. Delon. Pascale Petit is what her name says—a skinny little thing with a gamin air. She plays the girl, newly married, who still is a moth for her former flame. Jacqueline Sassard is the spiritual one, a plainly precocious convent girl who is led into mischief and expulsion by the hero's ineffable charm.

Obviously, all three of these young ladies are stronger than M. Delon. It is tiresome to see them wasting their strength on the likes of this film.

There are English subtitles, but they are no brighter than the script.
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The indiscreet charm of the bourgeoisie
dbdumonteil28 April 2017
A cursory look at Michel Boisron's filmography and you know what you are going to watch:it's pure commercial stuff ,sometimes entertaining ("Le Chemin Des Ecoliers").Always jumping on the bandwagon,he made a "yeah yeah" movie ("Cherchez L'Idole" ),a spy thriller in the wake of James Bond ("Atout Coeur A Tokyo Pour OSS 117"),a fairy tale after Demy's "Peau D' Ane " ("Le Petit Poucet),and so on....

The Office Catholique Du Cinema advised their flock against this movie which lauded degenerate ways, free love,and above all ,who laughed at the sisters ,their school and their obsolete methods and their religious upbringing: the scenes in the sectary school are nevertheless the funniest in the whole movie ,with absolutely gorgeous Sassard (by far ,my favorite girl) who braids her hair before letting it hang down !Her "cousin"'s visit under a nun's watchful eye ,her being expelled from this place where you are carefully taught ,because ,as father Roquevert thinks ,she laughed in the chapel (you cannot be always crying in the chapel,can you?)

At first sight ,it appears as a woman's lib manifesto as well as a defiant attitude against a stilted society .But it is not so .Boisrond's movies- see also "Comment Epouser Un Premier Ministre " or "La Leçon Particulière" - may lampoon or challenge the establishment ,but they do it cowardly.All his characters move in wealthy milieus :Julien's father ,himself a womanizer ,owns a recording studio,Agathe's father is a chemist ,Helene 's folks are famous virtuoso musicians (Roquevert cast against type is hilarious).And if Julien is cynical ,if he may scandalize, he will take his exams and he will do his military service (1959 ,it was Algeria war ,all the same).The last sequence ,which takes place in a jail ,epitomizes reaction: a young soldier in uniform who has some kind of church wedding,everything to reassure the God - fearing and the right- thinking.

As for the girls' "crime" ,it is too gentle,devoid of black humor ;we are in a sanitized world ;even the dreamlike scenes suffer from a lack of imagination .

Delon's career really took off with Clement's"Plein Soleil" aka "purple noon" which was fortunately around the corner.Sassard's abruptly ended with Chabrol's "Les Biches";too bad her beauty did not grace the screens after 1968.

Two Paul Anka songs (including his big hit " Diana" ) are heard:the connection with the plot escapes me,I fear.
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