Paris, Saturday. Julien Tavernier has an affair with Florence Carala, the wife of his boss, Mr. Carala. The lovers decide to kill Mr. Carala. Julien devises a clever plan of using a rope to climb up to the top floor of the company, shoots Mr. Carala and locks all the doors from inside, making it look as if the boss committed suicide. Julien exits the building, but then realizes he left the rope hanging. Julien enters the elevator, but gets stuck inside when the janitor switches off the electricity for the weekend. On the street, Julien's car is stolen by teenagers Louis and Veronique. As Florence sees Julien's car, she assumes he abandoned their plan. At a motel, Louis shoots a German couple with Julien's gun, and therefore the police suspect Julien is the perpetrator. When the power is switched back again in the morning, Julien finally exits the elevator, but is arrested for the murder of the German couple. Florence realizes the mistake and informs the police that Louis is the one to blame. The police develop the photos from the motel, showing Louis with the German couple, and thus arresting him. Bu they also arrest Florence who is seen with Julien on the photos.
Louis Malle's feature length debut film (if his documentary "The Silent World" is disregarded), excellent "Elevator to the Gallows" caught the director instantly on the right foot, crafting a remarkably polished crime-drama film. A story that could have developed as your run-of-the-mill crime flick about two lovers who conspire to kill the husband of the woman is enriched with a lot of twists and unexpected de-tours, which, although they may seem too "knotty" at first, eventually all align into a harmonious whole in the finale, confirming that the script was meticulously written and planned in every little detail which is justified at the end. One of the surprises is that the main character, Julien, gets trapped in a shut down elevator, and thus spends 60 minutes of the film's running time inside. In another, even though he perpetrated a seemingly perfect crime, concealing all the traces behind him, after killing Mr. Carala, Julien is arrested, anyway, for a murder he (ironically) did not commit, but a teenager who stole his car and used his gun, implying the fatalism and inescapable determinism of Julien's fate. Filmed mostly with natural lighting, "Elevator" conjured up an elegant, relaxed form of realism, giving Jeanne Moreau a juicy leading role, whereas some critics consider it a precursor to the French New Wave.
Grade:+++
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