Règle du jeu (la)

English title: The Rules of the Game

Genre: comedy drama of manners (in black and white)

With:   Nora Gregor (Christine de la Chesnaye), Roland Toutain (André Jurieux), Jean Renoir (Octave), Marcel Dalio (Marquis Robert de la Chesnaye), Julien Carette (Marceau the poacher), Mila Parély (Geneviève de Marras), Paulette Dubost (Lisette the chambermaid), Gaston Modot (Édouard Schumacher, the gamekeeper), Eddy Debray (Corneille) Pierre Magnier (the General), Odette Talazac (Charlotte de la Plante), Claire Gérard (Madame de la Bruyère), Anne Mayen (Jackie, Christine's niece)

Director: Jean Renoir

Screenplay: Jean Renoir with help from Carl Koch

Release: 1939

Studio: Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Rating: for all

MBiS score: 8.8/10

 

Cherchez la femme!* 

 

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Story-line: Paris in the 1930s. Renowned aviator André Jurieux should be ecstatic – he has just accomplished a successful crossing of the Atlantic – but he is profoundly disappointed that Christine, the love of his life, wasn't at the airfield to greet him. And that's the problem with Christine... she's a very popular woman. Octave, André's best friend, is fond of the lady himself and other men also have her in their sights. Luckily for all, this whole romantic entanglement may soon be settled at Robert de la Chesnaye's country estate, where everyone has been invited for a hunting party. In case you’re wondering about Robert, well... he so happens to be Christine's husband… and is romantically involved with Geneviève de Marras.  

Pluses: superior acting all around but especially by Marcel Dalio and Jean Renoir (who shows a knack for comedy), perfect direction, an imaginative and ambitious screenplay loaded with well-drawn characters, precise dialogues, surprising twists  and irony, excellent editing and production values, an astute buildup of tension that leads to a stunning climax.

Minuses: since LA RÈGLE DU JEU is rather slow at first, you may be tempted to bail out early – as I once did – but the story becomes much more interesting after 25 minutes. Its deliberateness is due to the dialogue-driven, novel-like approach needed to depict matters of the heart among multiple characters. 

Comments: as one of the greatest movies ever made and a testament to cinema's brilliance even in its early days, LA RÈGLE DU JEU skilfully illustrates the fickleness of love in high society (and in all social classes for that matter). It follows a sizable group of characters (bourgeois and servants, all of them important in some way) who suffer from being loved too little or too much in a world where marriage is a convenience and real romance seems attainable only out of wedlock. LA RÈGLE DU JEU reminded me of Robert Altman's GOSFORD PARK and one might say that Altman's fine ensemble drama is a tribute to Renoir's masterwork. Rules are rules, movie buffs! 

*By analogy: ‟He must have done this for a woman. Let’s find her.” 

 

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