RED LIGHTS
Directed by: Cédric Kahn.
Produced by: Patrick Godeau.
Written by: Cédric Kahn, Laurence Ferreira-Barbosa & Gilles Marchand, based on the novel by Georges Simenon.
Director of Photography: Patrick Blossier.
Edited by: Yann Dedet.
Released by: Wellspring.
Language: French with English subtitles.
Country of Origin: France. 106 min. Not Rated.
With: Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Carole Bouquet & Vincent Deniard.

Composer Claude Debussy's soothing and ominous score, "Nuages," sets the tone for this elegant and brutal pulp thriller. Stuck in traffic along with two million other motorists, married couple Antoine and Hélène are on their way to pick up their children at summer camp. On the surface, they argue about which route to take. But during the day, Hélène (a highly successful corporate lawyer) has kept her husband (an insurance rep) waiting, during which Antoine has started a drinking binge behind her back. Hélène is played by the regal Carole Bouquet, former model for Chanel and perhaps best known outside France as For Your Eyes Only's Bond girl. Jean-Pierre Darroussin, as the timid Antoine, closely resembles Wallace Shawn. As the tension between the couple rises, they're both too angry to hear the radio news report of an escaped convict. With Antoine lost and driving in the wrong direction, he stops for yet another drink, despite Hélène's emphatic warning that she won't wait for him if he leaves her. The evening turns into a celebration of sorts as the emasculated Antoine, now without Hélène, feels emancipated.

Darroussin plays a great drunk. His every movement takes great effort. But after Antoine's night of freedom takes a horrific turn, daytime offers him no relief. Stranded in a small town, he has been unexpectedly delayed from reuniting with his family. Darroussin maintains the high stakes in a montage of Antoine telephoning his family. The dialogue is pedestrian, but Darroussin supplies the tension. There's not a casual or throw-away moment in his performance. In fact, each character in this small ensemble has a presence. The stately and unobtrusive camera focuses on the absorbing performances. When the camera abruptly follows Antoine during his frantic and chaotic night, it's jarring and helps creates a sense of alarm. Written in a traditional three act structure, this bourgeois film noir is nevertheless character driven. And there is something thoroughly American about its theme of masculinity and rough justice. It's as if Antoine wants to release his inner-Dirty Harry. With its restrained use of music, pace, and strong acting, Red Lights is so tastefully produced that its brutality becomes even more shocking. Kent Turner
September 3, 2004