THE CONFORMIST

The priest hears Clerici's confession 

THE CONFORMIST (aka Il conformista/1970). Director: Bernardo Bertolucci. From the novel by Alberto Moravia.

In Fascist Italy Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant of Les biches) is engaged to a pretty but vapid woman, Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli of Black Belly of the Tarantula), but making love to her is one of the last things on his mind during his honeymoon in Paris. Marcello has been chosen to do a mission with a colleague named Manganiello (Gastone Moschin)  -- to make contact with an old professor, an anti-fascist named Quadri (Enzo Tarascio), and "eliminate" him as a lesson. Marcello believes that he murdered a man, Lino (Pierre Clementi), who nearly molested him when he was a child, and has done his best to quash any "abnormal" sexual impulses or other unconventional thoughts or actions beneath a veil of alleged normalcy. On his honeymoon Marcello develops a seeming passion for Quadri's wife, Anna (Dominique Sanda), even as Anna reveals a certain hankering for Giulia. Although Marcello tries to keep Anna from taking a trip with her husband, tragedy strikes in the woods ... This film brought Bertolucci to international attention, and it is easy to see why, for it has a crisp and arresting style and despite some silly moments and confusing aspects, is suspenseful and very compelling. Bertolucci fiddles a bit with Alberto Moravia's source novel, adding ingredients that are more up his alley, while staying true to the book's themes (although I confess I haven't read the book in decades). If there is a problem with the picture it's that it isn't quite long enough -- things seem to have been left out in the editing room and the final sequence when our anti-hero begins to unravel is much too abrupt, with no real build-up to events that seem more convenient than dramatic. However, the picture not only boasts assured direction, but excellent performances from the entire cast. There are several stand-out sequences, such as the sensual dance between Anna and Giulia, and the tense and disturbing sequence in the woods. Vittorio Storaro's cinematography is outstanding, and there's a fine, evocative score by Georges Delerue. As much as I admired the film -- when I first saw it years ago it really knocked me out -- I have the nagging feeling that someone like, say, William Wyler could have told the same story and made it more moving and powerful and perhaps even more erotic. Then there is the fact that it could be argued that the psychology of the film is obvious and of the dime-store variety. Still Bertolucci and his co-workers fill the movie with interesting and often stunning and unusual images. Dig that photo of Laurel and Hardy on the window of the dance club!

NOTE: For those in the Los Angeles area, the Art Directors Guild [ADG] will have a special showing of The Conformist at the Egyptian theater, Sunday May 20th, at 5:30 PM. The work of Ferdinando Scarfiotti, who was the production designer for the film, will be discussed as well.

Verdict: Comes this close to being a masterpiece but doesn't quite get there. ***.

THE FIFTH CORD

Franco Nero and Pamela Tiffin

THE FIFTH CORD (aka Giornata nera per l'ariete/aka Evil Fingers/1971). Director: Luigi Bazzoni.

After a New Year's Eve party, a young man named John Lubbock (Maurizio Bonuglia) is attacked in a tunnel by an unknown person and nearly killed. Investigating the case is reporter Andrea Bild (Franco Nero of Killer Mermaid), who has an ex-wife, Helene (Silvia Monti), a little boy, Tonio, and a girlfriend named Lu (Pamela Tiffin of The Pleasure Seekers), and who drinks way too much for his own good. Then there is a series of murders, with a doctor's wife being the first victim (in a well-handled sequence), as we hear an unidentified person on the soundtrack talking about how much he likes to kill people. The Fifth Cord is a non-bloody giallo film that has a nice look (thanks to cinematographer Vittorio Storaro) but which doesn't compare to the best of Dario Argento. The story is completely confusing (Nero's thick accent doesn't help), and the motivations of the killer seem ridiculous (and homoerotic in a strictly old-fashioned sense). There is one very creepy and suspenseful scene when the little boy winds up alone in a house with the lights out and is stalked by the killer. Wolfgang Preiss plays the inspector on the case and Edmund Purdom is a minor character. Nero began a long relationship with Vanessa Redgrave when they worked on Camelot; they married in 2006.

Verdict: Second-rate giallo with some interesting aspects. **1/2.

CAFE SOCIETY

Jesse Eisenberg

CAFE SOCIETY (2016). Writer/director: Woody Allen.

"First a murderer, then a Christian -- what did I do to deserve this?" -- Rose.

Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) moves from Brooklyn to try his luck in 1930's Los Angeles, where his uncle Phil (Steve Carell) is an agent. Bobby becomes friends with Phil's secretary, Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), unaware that she is his uncle's mistress. Later Bobby opens up a New York nightclub with his gangster brother, Ben (Corey Stoll of Dark Places). But can Bobby outrun his heart and Ben the law? Cafe Society is a pleasant Woody Allen movie without Allen in the cast. Wisely recognizing that he could no longer play the naive young man starting out in life, Allen cast appealing Jesse Eisenberg as his surrogate, and it was a smart choice. You can just hear Allen saying the dialogue in his inimitable way as we watch Eisenberg play his part, and play it well, although the better-looking man plays the real, shrewd Allen more than his usual nebbish on-screen persona -- another wise choice. The gangster stuff is as tiresome as it generally is in Allen's movies, but there are some fine performances, especially from Jeanne Berlin [The Heartbreak Kid] as Mother Rose and Ken Stott as her husband. The picture is handsomely produced, with Vittorio Storaro's cinematography especially breath-taking. Cafe Society is a nice enough picture, but it's still a minor effort with a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion and a protagonist who can be annoying at times. The cast-off spouse of one character is completely forgotten, which is pretty typical of Allen since his split from Mia Farrow and even before. Eisenberg is certainly better in this than he was in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.  Storaro's exquisite work was also seen in such films as Exorcist: The Beginning.

Verdict: Great to look at, with a highly pleasant lead actor, but no great shakes when all is said and done. **1/2.