Critic Reviews
94
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
positive
16(100%)
mixed
0(0%)
negative
0(0%)
Showing 16 Critic Reviews
100
A plan for a perfect murder goes wildly wrong in this 1958 melodrama by one of France's great filmmakers.
100
A consummate entertainment rich with the romantic atmosphere of Paris in the 1950s. Coming at a turning point in French cinematic history, it drew upon several major talents - director Louis Malle, star Jeanne Moreau, cinematographer Henri Decaë, musician Miles Davis - and achieved near-legendary results with all of them.
100
As French crime thrillers go, this is about as good as it gets.
100
A suspenseful, elegant entertainment.
100
It is not free of plot-holes...but what a supremely stylish and watchable picture it is.
100
The construction has a mocking fatalism that might have felt oppressive, but Malle and his actors keep you constantly on the edge of your seat, wondering what curse will befall the desperate lovebirds next.
100
The ambition is bracing, but critical hindsight obscures how exciting Malle’s noir thriller is on its own terms.
91
Malle, only 25 when the film was released, bounces confidently among several threads -- classic French policier, juvenile delinquent film, doomy tale of tragic love, clock-ticking thriller.
90
A tightly structured thriller with a brilliantly moody performance by Jeanne Moreau, and depending on your point of view, it's either one of the few genuine French noir films or an early entry in the New Wave.
90
Moreau's nocturnal wanderings are made unbearably poignant by an exquisite Miles Davis jazz score that became famous in its own right.
