Movie Type: Post-Noir (Modern Noir), Psychological Drama
Themes: Femmes Fatales, Voyeurs
Main Cast: Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier, André Wilms, Eric Berenger, Philippe Dormoy, Bernard Soufflet
Release Year: 1989
Country: FR
Run Time: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Lonely and shy bachelor Monsieur Hire (Michel Blanc), suspected in the murder of a girl, secretly watches his young, attractive neighbor Alice (Sandrine Bonnaire) through the window. Once, when lightning flashes during a thunderstorm, she notices his face in the window and comes to him to find out what he is after. Adapting Georges Simenon's novel, Patrice Leconte emphasized the psychological drama rather than the detective story and created a film about loneliness and voyeurism; his cold precision is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock or Fritz Lang. The low-key acting and moody soundtrack add a lot, but it's the director who deserves the most accolades, as he manages, with only glances and gestures, to achieve a degree of eroticism that other films fail to reach even through explicit sex scenes. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
Review
Patrice Leconte's subtle, insinuating thriller becomes much more than it at first appears. What seems to be a psychological thriller about an obsessive-compulsive voyeur suspected of a young woman's murder turns into an exercise in existential angst similar to Albert Camus' classic Existentialist novel The Stranger. Like Camus' protagonist, M. Hire leads a life of deadening routine on the fringes of society, remains aloof from others, and is suspected of committing murder. Michel Blanc plays Hire's cool, non-verbal fastidiousness with just the right touch of quiet yearning. However, Leconte adds an intriguingly Hitchcockian element in the object of M. Hire's desire. Rather than feeling victimized by Hire's obsessive voyeurism, the woman (Sandrine Bonnaire) is seduced by it, becoming a watcher of the watcher. This twist provokes the audience to study the film's themes from at least two perspectives at all times. The film's silences are profound, and the camera fills the void by moving seamlessly from one perspective to another, layering image upon image and forcing the audience to interpret the character's emotions and motives, since their words reveal so little. A sophisticated study of detachment and alienation, Leconte's film is a tragic and enigmatic masterpiece. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
Joëlle Hache - Casting, Elisabeth Tavernier - Costume Designer, Patrice Leconte - Director, Joëlle Hache - Editor, Michael Nyman - Composer (Music Score), Ivan Maussion - Production Designer, Denis Lenoir - Cinematographer, Philippe Carcassonne - Producer, René Cleitman - Producer, Patrick de Wolf - Screenwriter, Patrice Leconte - Screenwriter, Johannes Brahms - Featured Music, Georges Simenon - Book Author
Monsieur Hire is a 1989 French film directed by Patrice Leconte and starring Michel Blanc in the title role and Sandrine Bonnaire as the object of his affection. The film received numerous accolades as well as a glowing review from popular American movie commentator Roger Ebert. The film is based on Belgian-born French writer Georges Simenon's novel. Simenon wrote many popular detective books. Original music by Michael Nyman.
A misanthropic voyeuristic tailor, Monsieur Hire, spies on his gorgeous neighbour from across the street. This takes place in the backdrop of another plot, the unsolved murder of a local young woman. Monsieur Hire is hounded by a detective investigating the murder and is also eventually noticed by the object of his gaze, the young woman Alice. Monsieur Hire propositions Alice to ditch her boyfriend Emile, and run off with him to his little home in Switzerland, where he promises to take care of her.
Viens chez moi, j'habite chez une copine (1981) ·Ma femme s'appelle reviens (1982) ·Circulez y a rien à voir! (1983) ·Les Spécialistes (1985) ·Tandem (1987) ·Monsieur Hire (1988)
