Une belle fille comme moi (1972)
Directed by François Truffaut

Film Review

Une belle fille comme moi is François Truffaut's first and only sortie into black comedy, a film that is in marked contrast to his earlier films.  This is due partly to the subject matter - the film is a faithful adaptation of a very funny American novel.  Pierre-William Glenn's energetic photography also has a very strong influence on the mood and feel of the film, supported by a racy score from the superlative film musician Georges Delerue. The result is a film that is uncharacteristically wild and outrageously funny for a Truffaut film, often veering towards farce on a few occasions, but relentlessly entertaining.

Surprising then that the film was so badly received on its first release in France in 1972.  The critics lampooned it as shallow, the public avoided it in droves.  Fortunately, it was more successful abroad.  Its lack of success at home may have been due to Truffaut's somewhat anarchistic view of feminism.  In this film, he is relating of the story of a woman who manages, despite all the odds, to get the better of the men who ensnare and abuse her.  This idea of individual empowerment for women must have been a pretty radical idea at the time, although nowadays it is almost taken for granted.  The point of this film is that Camille, the central character, was driven to behave in the way she did because it was her only way out of an impossible situation.  She is clearly the female equivalent of the juvenile Antoine Doinel, Truffaut's auto-biographical character featuring in five of his films.

Not surprisingly, the highest accolade for this film goes to its lead actress,  Bernadette Lafont.  The role of the naughty and manipulative Camille fits her like a glove.  There is nothing remotely subtle in her performance, but it is brilliant all the same.  She struts from one bed to the next, stuffing her bosom with wads of cash as she goes, flitting inexhaustibly from one lover to the next, like a greedy schoolboy devouring his Easter eggs.  In this film, Lafont is the personification of French comedy at its best.

It has to be said that this is not Truffaut's best film.  However, it is probably his most entertaining, despite some shallow characterisation (which carries stereotyping a bit too far, even for a comedy) and overuse of argot (French slang).  Moments of sheer hilarity and high drama alternately punctuate a film that surges ahead like a juggernaut out of control on a motorway.

Film Synopsis

Stanislas Previne is a young sociologist who is writing a thesis on criminal women (which, we are told, is never published).  His subject is Camille Bliss, a young woman serving a prison sentence for murdering one of her many lovers.  Camille is also suspected of having killed her father and her mother-in-law, as well as attempting to kill her husband and her lawyer.  Through a series of interviews, Camille relates the story of her life and explains how such a sweet girl like her should end up in jail.  Using her fatal feminine charm, Camille finally manages to persuade Stanislas of her innocence...