Review of Contempt (1963) by Blake P — 04 Aug 2012

Jean-Luc Godard goes "mainstream" with the handsome but often artistic "Le mà (C)pris". The only one of his films to have an A-list cast (featuring sex-kitten Brigitte Bardot, prolific French actor Michel Piccoli, Oscar darling Jack Palance and German director Fritz Lang playing himself), a "normal" screenplay and storyline, I'm assuming the film satisfied Godard's curiosity to make a film that fits into the Hollywood Golden Age.

The film is about a struggling screenwriter (Piccoli) attempting to write the story for Fritz Lang's adaption of "The Odyssey", while attempting to heal his crumbling marriage to the beautiful Camille (Bardot) and juggling his hit-and-miss relationship with the studio boss (Palance).

"Le mà (C)pris" is obviously Godard's most consistently dramatic work, and unlike many of his other films, it hardly ever goes into artistic, pretentious, or self-gratifying lapses. There still is a few expected twists involved, such as jump cuts, voice-overs, and strange music-- but what we really are paying attention to is an unusual dose of classy drama, mixing it with Bardot's sexuality.

The combination helps the film feeling modern, foreign and important all in one breath. Godard's interpretation is fascinating, and I believe this to be one of his his best films-- it shows us more mature side of the director.

"Le mà (C)pris" may not be as memorable as the director's more loved classics, such as "Alphaville" or "Pierrot le Fou", but you can still tell it's "Un film de Jean-Luc Godard".

This is a good introduction to such a complicated artist. Recommended.