'Cul-de-sac' is darkly comedic

Cul-de-sac (1966)
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Lionel Stander, Françoise Dorléac, Jack MacGowran, and William Franklyn

Director: Roman Polanski

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A wealthy couple, George and Teresa (Pleasence and Dorléac) are taken hostage in their isolated home by a wounded criminal (Stander) on the run and hoping for rescue by his boss. 

"Cul-de-sac" is one of those movies where characters are forced together in a situation and then proceed to tear each other apart emotionally, as interpersonal power dynamics move back and forth between them like a storm-swelled tide. It's near equal parts comedy and drama... although the comedy is almost all of a very cruel variety. 

Like almost all movies of this kind, it's a film that can only be successful if the characters are being portrayed by the right actors, who also happen to be extremely talented. Unlike most films of this kind, there is a very real sense that one or more characters will be brutally murdered by the time the end credits roll--and who and how many changes repeatedly as the story unfolds. 

So, given my comment above, is this film successful? Yes--because the three leads are absolutely fantastic in their parts. 

Lionel Stander and Donald Pleasence are playing the sorts of characters you've seen them portray before--Stander's once again a small-time hood ("so this is what Max did before he met Jonathan Hart", I thought to myself at one point) and Pleasence is the high-strung, fussy weirdo we're seen in slasher films,  comedies, and war movies. 

Meanwhile Françoise Dorléac provides them with a solid background to be quirky against with a character that is both the most grounded and most inscrutable. She seems to be very much out of George's league (and at least half his age), is clearly having an affair, and doesn't hesitate to mock him whenever the opportunity arises; she shows every indication of being a trophy wife who is in love with George's money rather than George. But, at several points during the film--and especially during its conclusion--Dorléac seems very protective of George and shows a concern that goes beyond just love of his money. This makes Teresa a very interesting character, and Dorléac's great skill as an actress makes the character even more-so. She was the perfect actress for a movie of this kind, since she shows an equal ability for comic timing and dramatic flourishes. She was also equally good, whether she was the center of a scene or just being there for someone else to play off.

Writer/director Roman Polanski's best films are centered on relationships between people, and he does an excellent job here--not surprising since he co-wrote the script. According to a couple different sources, though, this was a troubled production. The remote location resulted in some very uncomfortable days for actors and crew alike, and Polanski's relationship with people both in front of and behind the camera was stormy at times. In fact, the making of this film was so stressful for Polanski that he reportedly considered giving up on directing. The tension and frustrations felt by actors and crew may well have ended up on screen, lending even more power to the performances of the three principles, especially during several fantastic scenes that take place on the beaches.

Although "Cul-de-sac" isn't a perfect movie--some of the interactions with characters who aren't the main three don't make a whole lot of sense and lack any sort of payoff--but the the absolute brilliance that we see every time Stander, Pleasence, and Dorléac share the screen together more than make up for any shortcomings elsewhere in the picture. Whether their characters are being playful, threatening, or trying to emotionally destroy each other, we're treated to great performances by talented actors. It's a shame that Dorléac died at just 25 years of age shortly after making this film, because she would have undoubtedly continued to grow as an actress and would have been remembered as one of the all-time greats.

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August 2021 is Roman Polanski Month here at Shades of Gray. Check back  every Tuesday and Wednesday for posts relating to his work and his life (and to watch some of his early works).