Writer(s): Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Jean Redon, and Claude Sautet, with additional dialogue by Pierre Gascar. Based on the novel by Redon.
Starring: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, and Juliette Mayneil
Every genre of film is susceptible to an abundance of movies
with recycled plots--take a little bit of plot A, sprinkle in some plot B, and
climax with a touch of plot C, and voila!, you have your very own movie--but of
all of them, horror seems to suffer from this the most. This is most depressing, because it should be
one of the most versatile of them all.
Instead, we horror fans are treated to countless direct-to-video
borefests and tired franchises that are usually DOA before the second or third
movie hits store shelves (Saw and Paranormal Activity…I’m looking at
you).
That’s why I get a certain kind of satisfaction just from
reading a plot synopsis that promises to deliver something new; Eyes Without a Face is just that kind of
movie. Even its basic storyline, that a
doctor will stop at nothing to repair his daughter’s disfigured face, is a
thing of beauty—dig in a little deeper and it goes from intriguing, to chilling.
So obsessed with finding a suitable facial replacement is
Doctor Genessier, that he has his secretary, Louise, lure women to his
grandiose villa, where they are drugged.
It is there that he surgically removes their faces, completely against
their will, of course, and attempts to graft them onto his daughter,
Christiane, whose own face was disfigured in a car accident caused by her
father. So here we have an emotional
connection to the proceedings, which alone takes it above standard genre
fare—this isn’t a man simply killing women because he can; he’s doing it out of
love and concern for his daughter.
In the meantime, the doctor urges his daughter to hide her
hideous face with a white, featureless mask, one that would go on to influence
John Carpenter and an entire series of slasher films. The mask’s effectiveness is much greater
here, as Christiane spends most of the film’s running time wandering through
the villa, her thoughts and emotions hidden behind the plain disguise that she
is more or less forced to wear.
But therein lies a problem:
As the well-respected doctor continues to fail, Christiane becomes more
and more disillusioned with her situation, and more and more doubtful that her
father can do anything to help her. She
starts to feel for the victims, often sneaking in and watching them as they lie
unconscious on the operating table. So
the line between two realities are blurred:
Does the doctor really have his daughter’s best interests in mind, or is
he merely obsessed with perfecting the operation simply for the fame it can
award him for completing a surgery that hasn’t been done before?
It’s certainly an intriguing premise, and cinematographer
Eugen Shuftan does an extraordinary job setting the visual tone for the film:
the outdoor shots feature leafless trees and thick fog, when paired with the
black and white photography, makes for an excellent atmosphere. Eyes Without a Face looks gorgeous; in fact,
the visuals are the main reason this movie is held in such high regard, and
rightfully so.
The problem is, to simply base the movie’s power on its
visuals is to completely ignore a couple of its major flaws: Exhibit A, the
terrible score. I’m surprised more
people give this a pass, because I can’t think of a more misplaced set of music
to an otherwise good film. The main
motif, which starts just as soon as the film’s opening credits, reminds one of
a carnival, or perhaps more accurately, the intro theme to the show “Curb Your
Enthusiasm”. Either way, it’s definitely
not the most striking way to start a story that’s supposed to be
frightening. Only, it gets even
worse: It’s the same track used during
all of the “stalking” scenes. So here we
have playful, happy music over sequences that are designed to heighten
tension. This idea can, and has been,
used to excellent effect in movies before, but if that’s what they were going
for here, it fails miserably.
Exhibit B is its often plodding pace. There are long stretches where nothing really
happens, or where the camera feels like it needs to be somewhere else, rather than where it is at the moment. The best example of
this is right after we meet Christiane.
After Genessier and Louise leave her alone, she walks through the house
for about three full minutes, and we follow her every move. Only, there’s no payoff, and it doesn’t do
anything to advance the plot (well, the end of that scene does serve a purpose,
but there’s no need to drag the buildup to such a minor plot advancement out
for so long).
True to many movies from the same time period, the effects
are rather hit-or-miss, though I was shocked that director Georges Franju even
showed as much as he did. For example,
he goes out of his way to avoid showing Christiane’s face for much of the film--a
smart choice--only to inexplicably reveal it later on (granted, it is kind of
blurred, but the camera lingers on it for so long that you can still see just
how cheesy the makeup effects are).
However, there is a rather graphic surgery scene that, for the most part,
holds up well even today. The ending
also features a quick shot of a corpse that had to have been alarmingly graphic
for the time period, and still quite shocking today—how it made it past censors
back then is beyond me.
Speaking of the ending, I have seen some speculation as to
Christiane’s true motives for doing what she does, but it completely worked for
me. I won’t reveal exactly what happens,
but I felt there were enough hints given throughout that the ending felt pretty
natural, rather than the shocking diversion some make it out to be. In fact, it’s probably one of the most
satisfying scenes in the entire movie, and most definitely a perfect note to
end the movie on.
RECAP: I am recommending Eyes Without a Face, but not with
the same unreserved enthusiasm as most critics. It’s too slow and meandering in
some places, and while many critics have praised Maurice Jarre’s accompanying
score, I thought it was hilariously out of place. Still, the photography is astonishing, the
special effects are mostly good, and I thought the ending packed a pretty solid
punch. Also of note for being the film
that inspired Michael Myers’ faceless white mask. Pretty much required viewing for horror fans,
and a “recommended, with caution” for everyone else.
RATING: 6/10
TRAILER
No comments:
Post a Comment