CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 10/21/05

The Last Hit

by jeff goldsmith

Le Samouraï (The Criterion Collection)
(In French with English subtitles)

Jean Pierre-Melville (also directed) and Georges Pelligrin

For the first time in US video history, Jean Pierre- Melville's 1967 classic Le Samourï debuts on DVD and can now be relished by American screenwriters. Le Samourï (allegedly based on the novel The Ronin by Joan McLeod, although there is a question if this book even exists) remains not only a great French New Wave film, but also a well written and directed tale that unrelentingly constructs a dominant point-of-view insight regarding the life of a loner, Ronin-style hitman, Jef Costello (Alain Delon). After pulling off a contract killing, a few too many witnesses remain, which slowly drives this caged animal of a hitman into a corner. Can he outsmart the police and put his emotions in check to get away with what seems like his last hit? While the POV occasionally shifts to see what the cops are doing, screenwriters Melville and Georges Pelligrin so expertly slip us into Jef's shoes so that we're truly able to vicariously experience the life of a hitman. Wisecracking crooks and other clichés are subverted for a study in solitude as we travel with Jef during the fascinating, but mundane, preparation that goes into his bloody crimes. Excellent writing ensures that all facets of Jef's schedule and habit drive the story, including the genius use of his pet parakeet to serve as a low-tech alarm system. When action sequences play out, like real life, they end nearly as quickly as they begin. Patience is needed for this slow-paced but driven character-study worthy of watching for any screenwriter interested in a realistic vision into the criminal mind.

Le Samouraï (The Criterion Collection)
The Criterion Collection
Rated PG; 95 min.
$29.95

Buy it now for only $26.95 (save 10%)

Jeff Goldsmith is senior editor for Creative Screenwriting magazine and serves as the Los Angeles Events Coordinator in charge of the Creative Screenwriting screening series.

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