First Hit: An excellent complicated suspense thriller where the ending isn’t what I expected, yet it was very satisfying.
Fanny Ardant plays a very successful writer, Judith Ralitzer, who very subtly evokes sureness and strength in her ability to create popular books that people like to read. She also shows she can seductively manipulate.
At the beginning of the film she is being interviewed about her latest book when the scene quickly shifts to Pierre Laclos (played by Dominique Pinon) driving along a French highway.
While listening to the radio there is an announcement that a pedophile predator is on the loose and one of his calling cards is that he does magic tricks for children which lures them into his web. Pierre, stops at a highway fuel stop and does a bit of magic for a young girl while her parents watch. Then you observe Pierre watching a couple have a huge breakup where the man drives off leaving Huguette (played by Audrey Dana) alone at the roadside station.
Pierre tries to make conversation with Huguette but she continues to tell she wants to be left alone. He offers her a ride and she declines. The next day she is still waiting for her fiancé to drive back and pick her up but to no avail and Pierre is still there so she accepts a ride with him.
Given what we know about Pierre at this point, everyone in the audience is concerned that he is going to kill this younger woman. However, the film from here takes off and adds new characters, complexity and an ever evolving storyline.
All three main characters Judith, Pierre and Huguette are wonderful and ably assisted by an excellent supporting cast. However, the strong script and clear direction of this script by Claude Lelouch make this a top notch film.
Overall: This was an excellent film.