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Plein Soleil (1959)
Director: René Clément
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
René Clément and Chabrol's collaborator Paul Gégauff got hold of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley decades before Wim Wenders laid hands on the novelist's psychopathic protagonist in The American Friend. In his third film appearance, 24-year-old Delon exudes icy charm as Ripley, the emissary sent by an American industrialist to rescue his son (Ronet, sublimely dissolute) from yachting decadence. Delon, though, has a killer scheme of his own - murder the guy, pocket the loot, and steal his girl (Laforêt). Easy. It just takes a thread of steel in the nerves - and a director with the stealth and patience to wind up the tension and avoid rushing the pay-off. Audiences weaned on switchback cutting and adrenalin pace will have to adjust, but even the admittedly clunky first 30 minutes make sense in retrospect. Delon's determined chill aside, there's much to enjoy: a narrative stitched together with old school expertise; vivid marine camerawork by Henri Decaë; a startling rinky-dink piano score by Nino Rota.Author: TJ
Cast & crew
Director: René Clément
Producer: Robert Hakim, Raymond Hakim
Cast: Alain Delon, Marie Laforêt, Maurice Ronet, Elvire Popesco, Erno Crisa, Frank Latimore, Bill Kearns, Romy Schneider full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 119 mins
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