Coup de Torchon (Clean Slate)
Directed by Bertrand Tavernier
Written by Jean Aurenche and Bernard Tavernier from the novel “Pop. 1280” by Jim Thompson
1981/France
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime channel
Lucien Cordier: They say we are made in God’s image though if that were true I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley!
Is this a jet black comedy? It is certainly not a murder mystery.
It is 1938 in French West Africa. Lucien Cordier (Philippe Noiret) is the Chief of Police in a small town. He is a real sad sack, hired because of his laziness and ability to turn a blind eye. He is the butt of everyone’s jokes. He is married to Huguette (Stephane Audran), who is openly having an affair with her “brother” that lives with them. He takes up with Rose (Isabelle Huppert), a sex pot who is the victim of her husband’s physical and verbal abuse.
After his latest humiliation, he goes to the big city and is told to give back double of what he gets from his tormentors. Somehow Lucien believes this is a license to kill, which he does with abandon for the remainder of the film, being careful to always have a fall guy for his crimes.
The story this has most in common with is Taxi Driver (1976). The Philippe Noiret character is a complicated mix of clown and avenger. He comes to view his job as taking out the trash. There is not one sympathetic character in this movie. The story could have been told in a more compelling way but I love the actors and the staging so much that I can recommend it. But only if you like well-done dark stories about unpleasant people.
