There are two powder kegs in this film. The first is Lantier (Gabin) who wells up with violence when in the embrace of women. The second is Sevarin, played by Simone Simon. We can see the convergence of the twain as these two make their respective ways toward each other. Lantier is a railroad engineer and a very competent one. His locomotive is his passion. People are aware that he has an illness which he describes as the result of being the lineage of a host of alcoholics. He is lonely, however, and when he falls for Sevarin he falls for good. She is married and is complicit with her husband in killing a man for whom she was a mistress. Her husband, who also is a railroad man, feels he needs to kill him in order to restore his own honor. Lantier is a witness after the fact and this is when he connects with Sevarin. The romance is very passionate, but she needs him to kill her husband. He is not a conscious killer and can't do the job. This complicates everything and ruins Lantier's life. This is a simple tale that is complicated by the nature of the triangle. Renoir does some wonderful things with the camera and sets it all up very well.
Review of La Bête Humaine
