By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1 cat
Director: Cédric Kahn
Starring: Carole Bouquet | Jean-Pierre Darroussin | Vincent Deniard
Original language title: Feux rouges
Country: france
Year: 2004
Running time: 105
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365190/combined
Bruce says: “Some movies just rub you the wrong way. RED LIGHTS did that to me. Let me outline the plot. Antoine (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), a French milquetoast of a man who works in insurance, is married to Hélène (Carole Bouquet) a successful corporate lawyer. He has low self esteem and lots of frustrations. They have two children who are finishing summer camp in southwest France: together, Antoine and Hélène plan to drive down to get the children. Antoine has arranged to meet Hélène at a bar but she is late. Two telephone calls and three beers later, she arrives. Antoine watches Hélène saying adieus to a man before she crosses the street. Nothing is said but Antoine clearly suspects the stranger is Hélène’s lover. They have to go back to her apartment (apparently they are not living together) as Hélène has not packed or showered. Under the pretense of getting the car gassed up Antoine, now in a depressed state, ambles off to another bar where he quickly downs a double whisky.
“Off they head for Bordeaux. They begin arguing on the highway which is crowded, traffic moving slowly. The radio suggests that all sorts of perils and disasters await holiday travelers; people are being killed left and right and a dangerous criminal has escaped form the Le Mans prison. Thoughts of Jean-Luc Godard’s WEEKEND pop into mind. Antoine decides to take the back roads. Shortly he stops for gas – both for the car and himself. First he fills up the car, and then he darts in a roadside bar for another drink. The driving is tedious, Antoine begins to take enormous chances weaving in and out of one lane or another, and a near accident horrifies Hélène. Antoine soon needs more fuel. When he stops at another bar, Hélène warns that should he go into the bar she will drive off. But after a beer (or two) Antoine returns to find a note from Hélène in the driver’s seat. She has taken the train.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
“Antoine rushes at high speeds to the train station in next town but gets delayed by a roadblock and misses the train. Fortunately, a bar is next to the station. Antoine makes an attempt to chat up the man (Vincent Deniard) next to him at the bar while he downs some more whiskies. When Antoine heads towards the car, the same man stops out of the shadows and asks for a ride. Antoine thinks it would be a good idea to have someone to talk to. The two start out on the road and Antoine stops at a gas
station, this time buying a bottle of whisky, three quarters of which he downs in a single gulp in front of a shocked cashier. Antoine also finds his wife’s necklace on the floor of the car; it wasn’t there when he found her note. When Antoine heads into a ditch, the hitchhiker takes over the wheel. Suddenly, he turns away from their destination and Antoine realizes he is at the mercy of an escaped convict who must have stolen the necklace from his wife. When they end up in a secluded wood, Antoine knows he must think fast. As the hitchhiker comes after him, Antoine runs into the woods; while hiding he smashes his second whisky bottle to use as a weapon. The hitchhiker strikes but Antoine surprises him by gouging his face with the bottle, then beating him to death with a crowbar.
“When he awakens he is half on the road, half off. A rear wheel is akimbo. Antoine is almost too hung over to walk but he does manage to get help. He finds a bar where he has sense enough to order coffee and use the phone to track down his wife. She is found in hospital with a serious head injury. Antoine discovers she has been robbed, beaten and raped by the man he has killed. Small world. The police question Antoine about the murder but don’t include forensics as they look over his car. Lucky Antoine. When Antoine finally is allowed to visit Hélène for a decent length of time, she tells him she wants to live with him and the children. He admits that everything that happened was his fault. Nothing about the film’s ending is believable.
“RED LIGHTS’s suspense is based on: whether or not Antoine will have the fatal accident any man who has consumed too much alcohol is destined to have; where Hélène’s body will be found; and who will encounter the escapee first. The on-the-road photography is excellent building suspense from the moment the two leave Paris. The film belongs to Jean-Pierre Darroussin who is a convincing cuckold and souse. Carole Bouquet’s Hélène is defined more by Antoine’s reactions than by any acting depth, not that much was written into the role.
“If you enjoy watching drunk drivers have near accidents, this is the film for you. And if you like the idea of husband killing his wife’s rapist and getting away with it, well that’s a bonus as long as you don’t dwell on the fact that he didn’t know anything about the rape at the time of the murder. 1 cat”
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