I just finished watching the stunning film L'Enfer and I couldn't wait to review it. The movie was written by one of my favorite French writers, Clouzot, so it was bound to be a good movie. Well, not exactly. In fact it was not just good but exceptional and is one of the better films I have seen in some time.
With my background as a psychotherapist, I have to say that it was a brilliant psychological study of madness. All too often, films don't get it right--here, it's perfect.
The story is about a jealous husband. At first, he shows signs of anxiety--trouble sleeping, irritability and distractability. Later, this slowly evolves to include paranoia, as he begins to suspect his lovely wife of infidelity. Well, at this point it MIGHT be that the husband is mildly mentally ill or perhaps he just has a very active imagination. However, very slowly the paranoia becomes more and more delusional and it's obvious this is no mild illness. In fact, it becomes increasingly obvious he is exhibiting strong symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. However, his wife refuses to believe--thinking instead that he is just a jerk and not potentially dangerous. However, he ultimately becomes violent and accusatory--and the violence continues to escalate.
So far, this is a magnificent portrait of mental illness, as this SLOWLY developed and evolved. Unfortunately, one inexplicable part of the movie keeps it from getting a score of 10. When he ultimately beats and rapes her, she goes to the doctor. When the husband is confronted by the doctor, the husband VERY QUICKLY and CONVINCINGLY decompensates. It is obvious to anyone with an IQ greater than 14 that he is VERY dangerous and MUST be hospitalized as soon as possible to protect himself and others. BUT, the doctor sends them home--to come back in the morning!!! While it is VERY clever of the doctor to convince the paranoid husband the it is the wife who will be hospitalized, I can't imagine any doctor not calling for an immediate ambulance or the police to apprehend and forcibly commit him.
Despite this flaw, what happens next and the absolute uncertainty of the ending is remarkable--you really aren't sure exactly what happened because it is all shown through the eyes of the husband and his own reality ultimately disintegrates and he is uncertain exactly what has occurred. This blending of paranoid schizophrenia with signs of disorganized schizophrenia was brilliant, as some people diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia later become MUCH more more fragmented and irrational. A WONDERFUL JOB BY THE WRITER, DIRECTOR and the MARVELOUS ACTOR PLAYING THE TROUBLED HUSBAND--WOW, what a great and convincing job! Too bad there was that little slip-up with the way the doctor behaved.
With my background as a psychotherapist, I have to say that it was a brilliant psychological study of madness. All too often, films don't get it right--here, it's perfect.
The story is about a jealous husband. At first, he shows signs of anxiety--trouble sleeping, irritability and distractability. Later, this slowly evolves to include paranoia, as he begins to suspect his lovely wife of infidelity. Well, at this point it MIGHT be that the husband is mildly mentally ill or perhaps he just has a very active imagination. However, very slowly the paranoia becomes more and more delusional and it's obvious this is no mild illness. In fact, it becomes increasingly obvious he is exhibiting strong symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. However, his wife refuses to believe--thinking instead that he is just a jerk and not potentially dangerous. However, he ultimately becomes violent and accusatory--and the violence continues to escalate.
So far, this is a magnificent portrait of mental illness, as this SLOWLY developed and evolved. Unfortunately, one inexplicable part of the movie keeps it from getting a score of 10. When he ultimately beats and rapes her, she goes to the doctor. When the husband is confronted by the doctor, the husband VERY QUICKLY and CONVINCINGLY decompensates. It is obvious to anyone with an IQ greater than 14 that he is VERY dangerous and MUST be hospitalized as soon as possible to protect himself and others. BUT, the doctor sends them home--to come back in the morning!!! While it is VERY clever of the doctor to convince the paranoid husband the it is the wife who will be hospitalized, I can't imagine any doctor not calling for an immediate ambulance or the police to apprehend and forcibly commit him.
Despite this flaw, what happens next and the absolute uncertainty of the ending is remarkable--you really aren't sure exactly what happened because it is all shown through the eyes of the husband and his own reality ultimately disintegrates and he is uncertain exactly what has occurred. This blending of paranoid schizophrenia with signs of disorganized schizophrenia was brilliant, as some people diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia later become MUCH more more fragmented and irrational. A WONDERFUL JOB BY THE WRITER, DIRECTOR and the MARVELOUS ACTOR PLAYING THE TROUBLED HUSBAND--WOW, what a great and convincing job! Too bad there was that little slip-up with the way the doctor behaved.