Masks (1987 film)
Masks (French: Masques) is a 1987 French mystery thriller film directed by Claude Chabrol. It was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.[1]
| Masks | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Claude Chabrol |
| Produced by | Marin Karmitz |
| Written by | Odile Barski Claude Chabrol |
| Starring | Philippe Noiret Robin Renucci |
| Cinematography | Jean Rabier |
| Edited by | Monique Fardoulis |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Plot
Talent show host Christian Legagneur hires a young reporter, Roland Wolf, to write his biography. However, Wolf has ulterior motives - he is also investigating his sister's disappearance.
Cast
- Philippe Noiret as Christian Legagneur
- Robin Renucci as Roland Wolf
- Bernadette Lafont as Patricia, La masseuse / The masseuse
- Monique Chaumette as Colette, la secrétaire / The secretary
- Anne Brochet as Catherine
- Roger Dumas as Manu
- Pierre-François Dumeniaud as Max
- Pierre Nougaro as Gustave
- Renée Dennsy as Émilie
- Yvonne Décade as Antoinette
- Blanche Ariel as Rosette
- René Marjac as Maurice
- Paul Vally as Henry
- Denise Pezzani as Mme Lemonier
Reception
The film received mixed reviews. Time Out said "Chabrol frames the verbal sparring with characteristic precision, but the subtle plot suffers from a surfeit of politesse and a dearth of red-blooded passion."[2] The New York Times called it "something practically unheard of in the vast Chabrol filmography: a thriller that satisfies the audience's expectations of a thriller, even including the childlike hope that good will be rewarded and evil punished", and added "although the suspense is skillfully engineered, you can't help feeling Mr. Chabrol's boredom with it."[3] Jonathan Rosenbaum said it was "good, serviceable, quasi-Hitchcockian fun", but not especially memorable.[4] Craig Williams on the BFI site was more positive: "The idea of the bourgeois mask concealing murderous impulses is prevalent throughout the director’s work, but there’s a streak of self-awareness in Masques... that marks this as one of his best films of the 80s."[5]
References
- "Berlinale: 1987 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- "Masques 1987, directed by Claude Chabrol | Film review". Time Out London. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- Rafferty, Terrence (30 July 2006). "Chabrol is a Master of the Thriller (Hold the Thrills)". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- Rosenbaum, Jonathan (25 May 1989). "French Provincial". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- "Claude Chabrol: 10 essential films". British Film Institute. Retrieved 9 September 2019.