Review of La Bête Humaine (1938) by Oscar P — 02 Oct 2008

I respect Renoir greatly, the man's an artist, still, c'mon Jean Gabin as an on and off schizo killer?

If the movie is going to be as bananas as the screenplay prescribes then Renoir needed to give this movie a bit of bombast and melodramatic weight.

Instead there's this subtly dramatic pace that allows all of the films flaws to step out and say hey this is a ridiculous movie.

I don't recommend it for much else other than lush black and white photography and some truly kinetic scenes of people riding on trains.