Review of Secret Defense (1998) by Richard D — 03 Jul 2015
An immensely strange film from Rivette. On the surface it's a thriller, but it's 3 hours long and really has about as much plot as you'd expect from a film of regular length. Genre conventions are largely thrown away here.
The build up to what action there is is drawn out to incredible lengths without really attempting to build up suspense. The action is staged rather casually and indifferently. The plot centers on a murder and there's a twist, but it's all a bit sketchy and indifferently thought out.
This will all make it sound like I didn't like the film, but I liked it a great deal. It all serves to highlight the stupidity and irrevocable nature of the violence. Besides that, it's extremely well-written in the sense that the actors are given a lot of thoughtful dialogue and actions inside the clumsily executed thriller maneuvers.
This review of Secret Defense (1998) was written by Richard D on 03 Jul 2015.
Secret Defense has generally received very positive reviews.
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