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Content / Criticism

Marc (Alain Delon) really chose the wrong woman: starting an affair with the wife of a gangster boss was not particularly smart. The cuckolded husband does not want to let it go and hires a few killers to take care of the brazen rival. But he manages to escape and finds shelter with the rich American cousins ​​Barbara (Lola Albright) and Melinda (Jane Fonda). He wants to hide there until the matter has blown over. But it is not as easy as he thought. Not only is Barbara’s lover Vincent (André Oumansky), with whom she shares a dark secret. Emotions also run high when the two cousins ​​take a liking to the attractive Frenchman, who soon becomes more than just a chauffeur for them …

Not a mental matter

Thanks to his fantastic looks, Alain Delon was an absolute heartthrob in the 1960s, who would have been ideal for big heartbreak love dramas. It is all the more remarkable that at that time and also in the 1970s he was particularly notable for his appearances in crime films and thrillers. Silent as night (1963), Four in the red circle (1970) or Mr. Klein (1976) are still exciting genre contributions, in which the alleged pretty boy also convinced in dark contexts. In principle, one can also Like big cats The Frenchman’s beauty is indeed an essential part of the thriller drama published in 1964, when all kinds of women lie at Marc’s feet. But it turns into something very ugly.

One thing in advance: one should not expect credibility from the story. The adaptation of the novel Joy House von Day Keenewho made a name for himself with crime novels and soap operas, is not particularly interested in whether all of this is realistic. Whether it is the breakneck escape or the encounter with the two cousins, you cannot question any of it. It is also not as if Like big cats challenge your mind in other ways. There is a somewhat mysterious atmosphere in the villa at the beginning, when it is quickly apparent that something is not right. But the cat is let out of the bag relatively quickly. It is less about uncovering the secrets of the past and looking for clues and answers in the remote house.

Unpredictable and profound

Much more important is the question: What will happen? Director and co-author Rene Clement (Night of fulfillment, Only the sun was witness) manages to create a lot of tension from the limited setting. This is of course primarily due to the constellation of characters. In Like big cats Four people, all of whom are capable of strong feelings, come together in a small space. Restraint, however, is not their strong point, which is why the situation becomes increasingly complicated and confusing. Possessiveness and jealousy arise, no one wants to back down or give anything to others. While the mood inside the villa continues to boil over, there is still the threat from outside if the gangster boss does not want to let go of his prey. The danger comes from outside as well as from within.

This does not mean high tension from beginning to end, Clément does slow things down now and then. But the story remains unpredictable, not least because it simply doesn’t care about anything. The rest is done by the characters, who have no scruples whatsoever. So it will be interesting to see how the whole thing ends. Like big cats It is clear that the film will not end well, for that to happen it would have needed characters that could be described as “good”. The question is more: who will triumph in the end and at what cost? A chic setting and people from the upper class meet ugly abysses from which there is no escape. At best it is possible to climb over others and kick them even further down. That is fascinating and terrifying at the same time – and still worth seeing today.

Credits

OT: “The Felines”
Land: France
Year: 1964
Director: Rene Clement
Script: Rene Clement, Pascal Jardin, Charles Williams
Template: Day Keene
Music: Lalo Schifrin
Camera: Henri Decaë
Occupation: Alain Delon, Jane Fonda, Lola Albright, André Oumansky, Carl Studer, Sorrell Booke

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