A stylized, simple thriller that captures the mood and elegance of the time.

the physical storytelling is superb. the environment is immersive, real, yet almost renaissance. all the twists and turns, still being put together by people as we left the theatre, were so satisfying to watch unfold. the lonely vibes of joe buck, if he had wanted to be an assassin instead of a playboy. the intrigue of diabolique with a fraction of the dialogue.

It's a very mechanical film (the room bugging is almost 10 minutes long!). The pace won't be to everyone's liking. I've grown to appreciate it after my second viewing.

Minimalistic but tense, one of those movies where its appeal lies more in the approach rather than the story. Melville's use of grey and dark blue is great, he's almost like a French Michael Mann. For as simple as the story is, the writing is pretty great. The script constantly places the protagonist in interesting situations and I love how the lack of dialogue makes the story unfold more naturally. I think it's those two aspects what separate this from something like _The Killer_. The third act in particular is so well staged and tense, I wish more films used the Parisian subway as their mise en scene. Still, it's not a perfect film, as there's occasionally tension between the genre elements and the serious, slow tone. It's a similar complaint I have with some of Fincher's and Mann's work, they all seem a little ashamed of making genre films. Take the protagonist, who's written and dressed like a stereotype. Maybe that's an intentional choice, but it's certainly not the most emotionally engaging. There's also a few moments during the police line-up scene early on where the staging feels too cheesy compared to the rest of the film. None of that's a huge dealbreaker, and the contrast certainly isn't as apparent as in a movies like _Seven_ or _Cure_, but maybe leaning more into the silliness would've been to its benefit. 7.5/10