Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud) Review

Where do you go from there? Malle takes us along as a sweet flower shop worker and her no-good boyfriend get caught up in circumstances -- some beyond their control, some of their own making -- as well as the travails of heartbroken Florence, convinced Julien has abandoned and betrayed her. Throw in a couple of German tourists, a police investigation, and a great, percolating musical score improvised by jazz legend Miles Davis at the height of his powers, and you have all the ingredients for an thrilling ride through 12 hours of amoral hell.

That being said, ELEVATOR is paced deliberately. Malle allows individual scenes to breathe, to develop naturally, to allow moments to play out in silence. Especially good is the interplay captured between flower girl Veronique (non-professional Yori Bertin) and bad boy Louis (Georges Poujouly).

With this picture, Jeanne Moreau came into her own as a screen star. She wanders the streets of Paris in search of her lost lover; she looks haggard at times, radiantly reserved at others. The scenes were shot with less lighting than had been tried before, which opened up a world of possibilities for other filmmakers -- despite initial reservations by the boys in the processing lab.

ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS was the solo directorial debut of 24-year-old Louis Malle. He first emerged as a camera operator and then co-director for underseas explorer/filmmaker Jacques Cousteau (think THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU; Malle once said: "I’d been filming fish for four years!"). He continued making films throughout the 60s and 70s -- notably the incest-themed MURMUR OF THE HEART (1971) and French-colloborationist LACOMBE LUCIEN (1974) -- before making his reputation in the US mainstream with the notorious PRETTY BABY (1978), featuring Brooke Shields as an underage prostitute.

He soared to the heights with the magnificent melancholy of ATLANTIC CITY (1980) and drew arthouse crowds with the two-man show MY DINNER WITH ANDRE (1981). During the latter years of his life, Malle became better known in certain circles as Candice Bergen's husband rather than as a filmmaker. AU REVOIR ENFANTS (1987), based on a childhood experience, has been cited by many as the crowing achievement of a career that ended with Malle's untimely passing in 1995.

The official US website linked below provides information about the playdates that have been scheduled by distributor Rialto Pictures for ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS over the next few months. The Criterion Collection also plans to release the film April 25 on DVD.

Website (US).

Trailer (US). (QuickTime; downloadable; hi-res; lower-res versions available at website.)

Criterion Collection. (DVD details.)