A devilishly twisty plot from Sebastien Japrisot's novel curtly abridged for its transfer to the screen by director Anatole Litvak who's filmed a trippy hommage to late-60s France. it took me forever to figure out wth was going on. I was so hypnotized by the big white American convertible, picturesque French cafés, service stations, truck drivers, general joie de vivre, as Samantha Eggar goes awol with her boss's (Oliver Reed) car after accompanying him and wife Stéphane Audran to the airport. rather than return the car to their Paris mansion, she heads for the Riviera... while Petulia Clark belts a ballad celebrating the open road.
but soon Samantha starts being déjà-viewed along her improvised route as shopkeepers swear she passed this way earlier in the day. but that's impossible, isn't it? does she have a döppelganger, or could this capable ad agency secretary be losing her mind? or, is she being framed? Japrisot sprinkles in plenty of narrative surprises, keeping you distracted and misdirected. some reviewers have objected to a gratuitous fling with cheeky, scruffy, rough-trade John McEnery, but he's just what uptight Eggar needs to unwind over the Bastille Day holiday weekend.
***SPOILER ALERT*****
after trying to steal the car, he stands by her when a body turns up, before storming off because she doesn't love him. left alone, she hangs tough, coming face to face with her intangible pursuer. around 30 minutes before the end, a sudden series of flashbacks illustrates Reed's narration of the backstory neither you nor Samantha had any way of knowing. it's not the most graceful dénouement, but it doesn't detract from the enjoyably inscrutable adventure Eggar's just had. and despite the explanation, a deeper mystery abides: how do people reconcile their libidos with the constraints of respectability?
but soon Samantha starts being déjà-viewed along her improvised route as shopkeepers swear she passed this way earlier in the day. but that's impossible, isn't it? does she have a döppelganger, or could this capable ad agency secretary be losing her mind? or, is she being framed? Japrisot sprinkles in plenty of narrative surprises, keeping you distracted and misdirected. some reviewers have objected to a gratuitous fling with cheeky, scruffy, rough-trade John McEnery, but he's just what uptight Eggar needs to unwind over the Bastille Day holiday weekend.
***SPOILER ALERT*****
after trying to steal the car, he stands by her when a body turns up, before storming off because she doesn't love him. left alone, she hangs tough, coming face to face with her intangible pursuer. around 30 minutes before the end, a sudden series of flashbacks illustrates Reed's narration of the backstory neither you nor Samantha had any way of knowing. it's not the most graceful dénouement, but it doesn't detract from the enjoyably inscrutable adventure Eggar's just had. and despite the explanation, a deeper mystery abides: how do people reconcile their libidos with the constraints of respectability?