Jean-Pierre Melville weaves a story of a crook and a cop who are friends, the woman between them, and how their paths are destined to cross.
The Setup
A team of crooks rob a bank. One is shot during the robbery. The crooks get away, the wounded one goes in the hospital. When they are unable to retrieve him, they kill him instead. Then the cop gets assigned to the case. The cop and the leader of the crooks are friends. They also share the same woman.
Richard Crenna plays Simon (the crook) and Alain Delon is Edouard (the cop). After the bank it looks like everything will be OK until the injured crook’s (Marc, played by Andre Pousse) condition turns for the worse, and the team chooses to ensure his silence. The unassuming Edouard gets called in to take the case, and soon begins to suspect a great many things.
Also in the mix is Cathy (Catherine Deneuve), who is with Simon but is also involved with Edouard. When she asks Edouard if Simon knows, he states matter of factly, “He’s always known”.
Then the crooks plan a daring theft of a huge load of drugs on a train that Edouard has been tipped off to as well...
Minimalism As Storytelling
Melville paints a mighty picture using as few words as possible, instead allowing his characters to do what they would without the cumbersome action of talking. The players know who they are, and do what they do. When Marc is shot after the robbery, Simon tells him he’ll be at a hospital soon, lights a cigarette, and that’s all. What else needs to be said? The entire opening sequence of almost ten minutes has almost no dialogue. We are shown a bank, in a rainstorm, in a washed out and dim palette of color. We hear the weather and we see the robbers. A bank teller gets suspicious, and the actions of the men tell us what will happen. On the train, Simon is friendly with a passenger to avoid suspucion. Then it's back to business, isolated and focused.
Technique Reveals Action
Melville makes the viewer uneasy with his camera, panning with and following a character through a room, or a train car’s windows, following him then zooming in for reaction. He uses match cuts, different angles, slam cuts and almost always starts off with medium to wide shots keeping the story impersonal and utilizing environment.
The most telling sequence is between the cop, the crook, and the girl. Simon owns a nightclub. Edouard walks in, and the three go to the bar. Melville sets Cathy between the men, and as the three sip on scotch, we are shown each of their faces, looking at each other, and not in an order you might think. The scene is short, but says everything. Note the final expression on Crenna’s face, and then remember a similar sequence later in the film.
Un Conclusion
A tense bank robbery, a smart cop, a beautiful woman and crafty crooks make for a thrilling ride on a low budget where environment and action speak louder than words. These are Michael Mann’s cops and robbers, without the technology and in 1970s France. Un Flic will not be for everyone, but Melville’s distinct, sparse voice shows that actions certainly speak louder than words.
All actor/character names referenced via IMDB.
