Magnificent Innocents'

Press, 7 September 1976, Page 6

Magnificent Innocents'

“Innocents with Dirty Hands,” directed and scripted by Claude Chabrol. Carlton Theatre, September 6-8. Running time of feature: 8.15 to 10.30. The short season of highlights from the Auckland International Film Festival moved off to a highly satisfying start last night with a Franco-Germano-Italian coproduction from Claude Chabrol. This is one of two new Chabrol films premiered at the London Festival last December, but local audiences most recently saw his work in “Nada,” at the Ave- , nue festival a few weeks ago. j Like “Nada,” “Innocents (with Dirty Hands” is distin-i 'quished by the unfalteringly : brilliant photography of Jean I Rabier, who here explores 'that most fascinating of French subjects, the Riviera, • and — even most important! I— its RlB inhabitants. 1

This film makes an immensely pleasurable two hours viewing on the pictorial level alone, but it also has several other fine qualities which mark it as a significantly higher achievement I than “Nada.” Most important from the general entertainment point of view is the ; story structure: a perfectlyi constructed detection drama Which will keep all kinds of i audiences engaged right through. Nothing more may •fairly be said of the story', : except to praise its economy: ;for the first 30 minutes, we ! see only three characters, land even after that they are joined only by a few lightweights from the law. this • means that the eternal tritangle is kept tumbling along at a fairly healthy pace, and if its permutations are predictable the characterisation is full of surprises. i The acting of the two lead 5

parts is quite magnificent. Romy Schneider captures our attention right from the credit titles sequence, when a kite lands on her bare bottom, but she holds our interest to the end by more subtle means, and build up to an ironically sympathetic rape scene. Rod Steiger plays her supposedly alcoholic husband with a fleshy desperation that is deeply moving. The kiteflying hack writer is done in much more stereotyped manner by Jean Rochefort, who in medium shot looks very like Elvis Presley, but in big close-up has special appeal for the details it gives of a recent facelift. The only weakness of the film is in some very’ rough dialogue and dubbing; but there are so many good : things to compensate that you will not notice this after the first few minutes. i —Howard McNaughton.