Pickpocket (1959)
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Pickpocket Movie Review
Pickpocket is a 1959 French crime drama film directed by Robert Bresson and starring Martin LaSalle. It’s yet another overrated Bresson movie.
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“Where are you going, so full of hope?
There is no hope!“
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Michel, a young boy, develops pickpocketing as a hobby and is arrested immediately. His friend Jeanne offers him support so that he can quit the bad habit but it’s too late for him to quit. This movie has clear parallels to ‘Crime and Punishment’ in its basic storyline and main character. But unlike that seminal literary work, this movie has no staying power at all.
I have to admit that I am not a fan of Bresson’s filmmaking style. Critics praise him for bringing an emotionless, matter of fact style to every one of his projects, but I am not a fan of cold, passionless filmmaking, so his movies continue to leave me, well, in the cold.
Martin LaSalle is a lesser known actor who has never made a bigger career for himself after this role. Here, he was somewhat memorable, but the characterization is so slight that I ended up being disinterested in the main character and his story. His female friend is underdeveloped too and others are all forgettable.
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Pickpocket is visually solid. It’s very well filmed with some interesting camera movements and shots. The acting is pretty good as well and the suspense is there in certain moments, though those effects are pretty sporadic. The dialogue is very strong and the movie has solid themes on its mind, but it failed to properly explore them due to its insistence to focus more on the visuals than the story, leaving me bored throughout.
Pickpocket is another Bresson movie that I did not care for. His filmmaking style is cold, emotionless and, thus, very unappealing to me. The basic plot was inspired by ‘Crime and Punishment’, but it had no staying power like that literary masterpiece. The movie was very well filmed and solidly acted, but the script and characterization were both inferior.
My Rating – 3
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