The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (2015)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A preposterous plot with a harebrained explanation at the end, where one of the main characters is killed. Far better to have killed the script writer. Probably all the actors are competent, main-stream actors, but a second-rate high school cast could have handled the roles. It's something about a secretary being framed for a murder committed by the wife of her boss, and it's kind of a movie about the end of innocence.

Coherence and sense make a lot of watching any film. Without it, whether from a narrative or thematic standpoint, or both, there's nothing being communicated and thus barely anything worth watching.That's, for the most part, the case here with this film, which is a remake of the 1970's French film of the same name — appropriating that title and narrative, and trying to explore a deeper 'murk' with the operative of sexual encounters driving the confusion that is suppose to neatly unravel the twists in the plot. However, the sex (why is it always sex?) only stalls the inevitable, underwhelming reveal, spoilers be damned.At very least — emphasis on the "very" — the performances are still somewhat compelling; Freya Mavor is almost effortlessly charming and instantly watch-able, and I definitely get a feel for her character, almost solely off her performance alone. Also in supporting roles, Benjamin Biolay plays like he's auditioning for David Fincher's next noir thriller and Stacy Martin shows that she can transplant the natural charisma of Young Joe (Nymphomaniac, 2013). All three should be well worth a watch in more fortuitous and ambitious projects in the future.

"La dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil" ("The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun") is a remake of a 1970 film of the same title starring Samantha Eggar and Oliver Reed, based on a novel by Sébastien Japrisot, who also wrote the earlier screenplay. Screen writing and producer credit for the remake go to Patrick Godeau, who has numerous credits as a producer but no prior writing credits. One would think that in doing a remake, one would learn from the prior version, build on its strengths, improve its weaknesses and rework its flaws. However, this production displays the same faults criticized in reviews of the original. One minor change with significant implications is that in the 1970 film, Dany loses her way and by the time she realizes her mistake, continuing her journey doesn't seem like such a poor or drastic choice. In the remake, she makes a deliberate (if impetuous) decision, which puts her in a much less sympathetic light. We aren't given much of an opportunity to know Dany before she embarks on her adventure. A few quick scenes portray her as socially awkward, submissive and a bit milquetoast. She is much more inclined to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune than to take arms against a sea of troubles, which makes the plot more plausible but doesn't make Dany a particularly sympathetic or interesting character. Like the earlier film, the movie is set in 1970 or thereabout, when people used electric typewriters and carbon paper and revisions meant retyping the entire document from scratch. Nobody had cell phones, but CB radios were all the rage. The only rationale for this time setting is to make the plot slightly more plausible. The story relies on a series of coincidences. As each coincidence occurs as part of a road trip, they seem highly improbable. If the character had instead checked into an isolated inn with a small staff, few guests and only one dining area, coincidental encounters and such might have seemed less unlikely. Dany meets an egocentric self-serving rogue who is pretty much her opposite number in terms of personality, values and approaches to life. The movie's best scenes involve their interactions. This character could be a change agent who gives Dany the skills and outlook she needs to escape her predicament. After they part company, she does show some initiative in one reasonably clever scene, but quickly reverts to her passive role. Eventually, Dany becomes caught up in the machinations of another character. This character's grand scheme dramatically impacts Dany's situation. It's never clearly explained, but its chances of success seem highly remote. The character tries to explain away some of the coincidences as some sort of preternatural force guiding Dany's choices. The premise has considerably more potential than realized on screen. Dany's early choices could have complicated the other character's grand scheme, forcing that character into various spur-of-the-moment changes. (There is a bit of that in an encounter at a service station; however, how the other character came to be there in possession of a certain large object and managed to do things and leave unobserved by Dany or other witnesses seems implausible.) If Dany were to form an uneasy alliance with the rogue and develop new skills that allowed her to overcome increasingly difficult challenges presented by the other character's frantic efforts to adjust the grand scheme, it could have been a much better film. Films like "The Game" and "U-Turn" presented unsympathetic characters attempting to overcome challenges that intensified despite their best efforts. Dany spends much of the film doubting herself and doubting her sanity. She never unravels the mystery surrounding her. Instead another character explains everything to her. At the end of the film, it's not clear if she has grown as a character and become better able to contend life's challenges. The film leaves many questions unanswered. It doesn't have a strong moral or theme. It's nicely photographed, but the style of cinematography seems outdated, like something from the 1970s. The film stars Freya Mavor, which is about the best thing one can say about it. She is gorgeous. If she did nothing but stand there before the camera and smile, people would buy the DVD for the outtakes. Unfortunately, the script doesn't give her many opportunities to do much besides looking confused, but she looks great not doing much. Elio Germano does a credible job channeling Jean-Paul Belmondo as the rogue.

Great aesthetics throughout, beautifully shot, amusingly playful dialogues -sometimes unreal, sometimes carrying shifting meanings or seemingly no meaning at all- this film is a dreamy, sensual ride with a gorgeous actress (and character) on which the camera often lingers... The male counterpart can also be evocative though, but I like how the film just celebrates this beautiful woman, and with great music makes her attitude even more catchy. Meanwhile, the character is ambiguous, sometimes naive, other times vindicative and strong, sometimes simply weak. I struggle to find the underlying meaning of the film and though I have theories I am more than satisfied to let my appreciation of the movie be on a purely aesthetic level.