Review of Cul-de-sac (1966) by 3Guys 1 — 16 Mar 2012

So we are getting in the way back machine a little bit for this one. Cul-De-Sac, Roman Polanski's third film, was made in 1966. I saw one of his other early films, Repulsion and I was pretty impressed so I figured I would give this one a try when I saw it on Netflix.

Two criminals, Albie (Jack MacGowran) and Richard (Lionel Stander) are on the run from the law after a botched robbery. They are both wounded and their car has run out of gas. Desperate for a place to hide out, they stumble upon an isolated castle that sits on an Island.

The castle is occupied by George (Donald Pleasence) and his wife Teresa (Francoise Dorleac). George is a pushover who dotes on his forceful and promiscuous wife. They are resistant to the two men when they first arrive but George is unwilling to fight and bends to the whim of much larger Richard. Teresa becomes resentful that George will not stand up for himself and conflicts occur.

You can't help but think of one film in particular while I was watching this movie; Straw Dogs. The two films are definitely similar in a lot of ways. The theme here is basically the same. A bully(s) push around a much smaller protagonist and emasculate him until he is pushed too far. Once they have hit their limit, they attack ruthlessly.

Cul-De-Sac differs in that the George doesn't seem to "man up" until after he has committed his acts of violence. His attack against his aggressor is more accidental and somewhat unnecessary. In Straw Dogs the act of violence is Dustin Hoffman's way of finding his hidden manhood and the violence is justified.

Cul-De-Sac is a very character driven movie. The whole movie is about the interactions and complex relationships between the leads. The narrative definitely takes a back seat.

There was a lot of discussion on the google box about how great Donald Pleasance was in this movie. I found him to be a bit much at times and laying it on pretty heavy. For me character actor Lionel Stander was the stand out. He plays the brutish thug to perfection and was the most fascinating character in the movie.

There are a couple of interesting things to note about Cul-De-Sac. It has some nudity in it which I thought was pretty risqué for a movie that was made in 1966. Also, apparently Jack Nicholson has referred to this as his favorite movie.

Cul-De-Sac was an interesting character study but those who like a more traditional narrative might get a bit bored with this. For me it was worth a watch.