from its storyline and it's narrative structure, i can see that this film is trying to be a thoughtful psychological study of identity, power and maybe even madness.
a wealthy man hires a taster to fend off people trying to poison him...right...as if we're living in the 15th century and he's a king who has to worry about that sort of stuff. anyhoo, he hires a younger man to be his taster...an almost uncanny resemblance of him...except maybe 15 years younger. what basically happens is a twisted "my fair lady" transformation of this younger man into being a double of this wealthy man. the wealthy man goes out of his twisted way to make sure this younger guy is just like him...down to what they like to eat.
the problem i have with this film is that it tries to be a pyschological case study of power and madness, but it does it with thinly drawn characters. the only one that seems 3 deminsional enough to give the film some credibility is the character of the wealthy man. he has a very dark, slightly insane deminsion to him, someone who you would stay away from cuz he's just an unhealthy presence in anyone's life. this aspect of him is covered up with wealth, power and air of authority and feigned reasonability (he's got an uncanny ability to using words to make this poor fool feel guilty, welcomed,special and lucky all at the same time). *slight spoiler* he's not looking for a taster, but merely someone to control for his pleasure.
as for the younger man (rivier is his name i think) and his devoted girlfriend, they seemed thinly drawn and stereotypes. she looks down on the wealthy and he's a self-interested man who at first shares his girlfriend's dislike for the wealthy, but quickly becomes a hypocrite once wealth is at his door. very original. rivier in the beginning of the film seems to be an unlikely candidate for being someone's doormat. he seems like a self-assured, self-made sort of dude who would rebels against this sort of authority. so what's the big change? well, a nice apartment, clothes, car, watches, food...all provided by the rich man to be his taster. hell, if i were a young dude with no money, i'd jump at the chance! so he becomes a hypocrite overnight and becomes a doormat.
*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*
rivier and his girlfriend don't come across as real people. rivier is not a fully developed character, instead, he does whatever the plot requires him to do or to be. i mean, after someone gives you food poisoning, a tough guy like rivier would head out the door. but then the film would only be 45 minutes long, so he has to stay and endure more humiliating stuff. at the end the film, he's a crazy man who suffers from depression...something they called depersonalization depression. how convienent! and one never understands why and how he goes from an anti-wealthy rebel to a doormat hypocrite to a mad man who has completely lost his identity and is dependant on the crazed tycoon. as for the final act when rivier kills the crazed tycoon, it's supposed to be a logical and sobering conclusion to the story. i mean, if you're supposedly half crazy and you've been repressed and abandoned, this ending would be very fitting.
*SPOILERS END HERE*
this film certainly has the look of quality...it has a clean look to it, sharp and sunny to reflect the cleanliness and modern elegance of the world the tycoon lives in. the opening sequence is intriguing and the narrative when everything goes in a full circle is interesting. certainly, this director is techically skilled and has a good cinematographer and knows how to tell a story in an interesting way. but it lacks the psychological depth needed to make it a quality film. the film has an interesting premise, but maybe under the hands of a better director, maybe claude chabrol, this would have been an excellently engaging movie.
a wealthy man hires a taster to fend off people trying to poison him...right...as if we're living in the 15th century and he's a king who has to worry about that sort of stuff. anyhoo, he hires a younger man to be his taster...an almost uncanny resemblance of him...except maybe 15 years younger. what basically happens is a twisted "my fair lady" transformation of this younger man into being a double of this wealthy man. the wealthy man goes out of his twisted way to make sure this younger guy is just like him...down to what they like to eat.
the problem i have with this film is that it tries to be a pyschological case study of power and madness, but it does it with thinly drawn characters. the only one that seems 3 deminsional enough to give the film some credibility is the character of the wealthy man. he has a very dark, slightly insane deminsion to him, someone who you would stay away from cuz he's just an unhealthy presence in anyone's life. this aspect of him is covered up with wealth, power and air of authority and feigned reasonability (he's got an uncanny ability to using words to make this poor fool feel guilty, welcomed,special and lucky all at the same time). *slight spoiler* he's not looking for a taster, but merely someone to control for his pleasure.
as for the younger man (rivier is his name i think) and his devoted girlfriend, they seemed thinly drawn and stereotypes. she looks down on the wealthy and he's a self-interested man who at first shares his girlfriend's dislike for the wealthy, but quickly becomes a hypocrite once wealth is at his door. very original. rivier in the beginning of the film seems to be an unlikely candidate for being someone's doormat. he seems like a self-assured, self-made sort of dude who would rebels against this sort of authority. so what's the big change? well, a nice apartment, clothes, car, watches, food...all provided by the rich man to be his taster. hell, if i were a young dude with no money, i'd jump at the chance! so he becomes a hypocrite overnight and becomes a doormat.
*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*
rivier and his girlfriend don't come across as real people. rivier is not a fully developed character, instead, he does whatever the plot requires him to do or to be. i mean, after someone gives you food poisoning, a tough guy like rivier would head out the door. but then the film would only be 45 minutes long, so he has to stay and endure more humiliating stuff. at the end the film, he's a crazy man who suffers from depression...something they called depersonalization depression. how convienent! and one never understands why and how he goes from an anti-wealthy rebel to a doormat hypocrite to a mad man who has completely lost his identity and is dependant on the crazed tycoon. as for the final act when rivier kills the crazed tycoon, it's supposed to be a logical and sobering conclusion to the story. i mean, if you're supposedly half crazy and you've been repressed and abandoned, this ending would be very fitting.
*SPOILERS END HERE*
this film certainly has the look of quality...it has a clean look to it, sharp and sunny to reflect the cleanliness and modern elegance of the world the tycoon lives in. the opening sequence is intriguing and the narrative when everything goes in a full circle is interesting. certainly, this director is techically skilled and has a good cinematographer and knows how to tell a story in an interesting way. but it lacks the psychological depth needed to make it a quality film. the film has an interesting premise, but maybe under the hands of a better director, maybe claude chabrol, this would have been an excellently engaging movie.