The Bigger Picture

Under discussion:

Dangerous Liaisons  (1988)

Valmont  (1989)

Whilst Milos Forman's picture may have been overshadowed by the success of Dangerous Liaisons a year earlier, this adaptation of the same text is the more beautifully shot and emotional of the two films.

This is the story of a scorned woman and a rakish young man. One longs revenge upon her former lover who is about to be married, the other wishes to corrupt a woman who appears the very model of a faithful wife. However he also lusts after her, a former lover, and so finds himself ensnared in her plans.

As Valmont, Colin Firth is youthful, playful and vigorous. A ball of energy, he could not be more different from the more aloof, cold performance from Malkovich in Liaisons. The result is that his Valmont is easier to sympathise with and his fate is more affecting for that.

Annette Bening, in one of her earliest major roles, is fine as the bitter Marquise de Merteuil, yet it is harder to understand her domination over Valmont. Her performance and mannerisms are softer and more emphasis is placed on her feelings of humiliation stirring on her wickedness, rather than simply her nature.

The film features excellent support from Fairuza Balk as the fifteen year old convent girl who is to be married to Merteuil's former lover, and Sian Phillips as her mother. Both are excellent and give strong performances - particularly Balk who invests Cecile with a complexity and depth towards the end of the film. Here she is not simply a victim towards the end, she seems happy to be 'corrupted'.

With stunning visuals, locations and costumes, Valmont appears to tick all the right buttons and yet I was left with reservations. With Frear's adaptation I could easily understand its purpose and its meaning, yet Forman's work lacks a clear thread of thought.

His characters inspire neither revulsion nor sympathy, the tone here feeling closer to a Tom Jones-like romp than to the tragedy it occassionally threatens to become. Moreover, several characters do not get their comeuppance, nor do the 'victims' seem harmed by their ordeals.

The result is a film that entertains and pleases yet never fully satisfies, despite the picture's excellent cast and its high production standards.

Under discussion:

The Apartment  (1960)

Irma La Douce  (1963)

In Billy Wilder's Irma La Douce,  Nestor, an honest and naive cop (played by Jack Lemmon), loses his job on the force after performing an on-the-spot bust on a brothel. Down on his luck he returns to the scene of his bust where he runs into Irma (Shirley MacLaine) who, in recognition of his standing up for her, asks him to move in with him.

Now Nestor's a nice guy but also a relatively conservative one so needless to say he has problems with Irma's profession. Asked to be her pimp, he is stricken with bouts of jealousy, anger and depression. After yelling at one of her patrons he devises a plan to disguise himself as a rich, elderly English Lord and asks to be her sole client. However this is just the start of his problems.

Irma La Douce is a wonderful and charming romantic comedy, surprising in its use of darker elements and themes. In less capable hands than those of Wilder, Lemmon and MacLaine this could easily have sunk, yet it is hard not to adore naive Nestor and feel for his plight.

Lemmon is on the top of his game here, right from his first appearance where he wanders down an avenue in the early morning and slowly deduces why the streets are filled with women. This scene could potentially undo any credibility the character has but Lemmon plays it absolutely straight-as-a-nail.

He also has excellent chemistry with Shirley MacLaine, having previously starred in Wilder's The Apartment with her. Her Irma is unapologetic and candid about herself and her profession. She is not a helpless woman waiting to be rescued, she is manipulative and confident.

Scenes between the two stars sparkle and they are ably supported by Lou Jacobi as the nutty, philosophical cafe owner Moustache.

As the farce plays out things become more and more ludicrous yet thanks to its stars the piece (mostly) retains its credibility. However there is one scene where some prison bars are bent open that ought to have been rethought. It looks ridiculous and threatens to undermine its ending.

Irma La Douce is impressive because of its audacity. Its setting and characters may well put off more conservative viewers but at its heart this is a simple love story. Sure, the characters are not the sort of people we usually see fall in love in romantic comedies and her profession is crucial to the problems they go through, yet it is easy to sympathise with Nestor and his predicament.

Clocking in at over 145 minutes, Irma La Douce does well to avoid overstaying its welcome. The pace remains lively and the performances energetic throughout and in the end Wilder just about gets away with it.

With a great set of central performances, funny situations and a script that contains some great gags there is a lot to admire here. Whilst it may not be widely acknowledged as a classic, this film is every bit as funny and clever as The Apartment and certainly deserves attention.