Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
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Seen Before: No
Rating: 3.5
Louis Malle's debut film is an interesting work and certainly an impressive first effort, but not one that I found overly exciting. It's a shame, but Jeanne Moreau isn't given all that much to do except look worried. Elevator to the Gallows is by no means bad and is certainly worth viewing, if not only for the improvised Miles Davis score.
posted by Marco Roman at 2:02 PM
5 Comments:
And see I loved this film. What did you think of Shoot the Piano Player?
Believe it or not, I haven't seen Piano Player yet, but it's in my Netflix Queue. I'll need to rewatch Elevator in the future--what struck you about it?
As you noted, I loved the Miles Davis music. I felt that added this level of passion between the two lovers that normally seems forced in film noirs. Here, it felt fresh.
I also loved the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" type premise once another murderer uses his name. And I found it rather disturbing when the young kids to commit the murder. There's little in terms of explanation and Malle leaves us with a really sour chord that never gets resolved.
As for Jeanne, I love her films but oddly I've never been a big fan of her. She seems to have a frown frozen on her face and it always bothered the hell out of me. Maybe I liked the film partly because Malle keeps everything at a bare bones level and doesn't try to over dramatize the characters. With the exception of her frown (and the music), the film kind of cold in tone, and I enjoyed sublimating myself on the characters.
Stylistically, Piano Player is similar to Gallows, which is why I asked. Piano Player comes later, and I was really surprised at how much of Gallows is in that film. I'm beginning to wonder about Truffaut.
And just out of curiousity, who are you on the forum?
Actually, I browse the Criterion Forum but haven't posted yet. Some of those people over there are nuts
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