Monsieur Hire (1989)
A simple movie with the protagonist and the viewer both made to be voyeurs. There is some pathos to the lonely man with some secret talents (like bowling) and some unbridled and unelaborated interests (staring at a woman through her open blinds as she dresses).
But the movie suggests some true stupidity and/or willingness on the woman's part. She does not seem to be an exhibitionist, and yet she leaves herself exposed. At one point she is shocked to see the man watching. But then she gets involved with him. A boyfriend has a separate intrigue at work which complicates matters, and this isn't very well developed. And finally there is tragedy, and a kind of lyrical/awkward final scene.
Director Patrice Leconte has a curiously unsensational way of treating some of these very private subjects. You want to like his films very much. They have small casts and try to deal with psychology instead of just sensation and plot. A better entry into his style might be "Intimate Strangers" from 2004, also starring Sandrine Bonnaire.
You can like the intentions here, and like the mood, and maybe forgive yourself for watching the man watch the woman (that is, watch the woman yourself), but it drags as if this is enough. And it's not. And if you're looking for salacious, don't get the wrong idea. It's pretty clean voyeurism. Disappointing.
A simple movie with the protagonist and the viewer both made to be voyeurs. There is some pathos to the lonely man with some secret talents (like bowling) and some unbridled and unelaborated interests (staring at a woman through her open blinds as she dresses).
But the movie suggests some true stupidity and/or willingness on the woman's part. She does not seem to be an exhibitionist, and yet she leaves herself exposed. At one point she is shocked to see the man watching. But then she gets involved with him. A boyfriend has a separate intrigue at work which complicates matters, and this isn't very well developed. And finally there is tragedy, and a kind of lyrical/awkward final scene.
Director Patrice Leconte has a curiously unsensational way of treating some of these very private subjects. You want to like his films very much. They have small casts and try to deal with psychology instead of just sensation and plot. A better entry into his style might be "Intimate Strangers" from 2004, also starring Sandrine Bonnaire.
You can like the intentions here, and like the mood, and maybe forgive yourself for watching the man watch the woman (that is, watch the woman yourself), but it drags as if this is enough. And it's not. And if you're looking for salacious, don't get the wrong idea. It's pretty clean voyeurism. Disappointing.