A Taste For Murder
Review by Shelley Cameron For Reel Movie Critic

HH

Directed by Raoul Ruiz. Not Rated. 101 minutes. In French with English sub-titles.

For sheer atmosphere, this light mystery is loaded with the visual trappings of classic 1940's film noir styling. Starring the champagne glasses, vintage clothing, and other prominently placed props of the 1940's and 50's as much as it stars any of the actors; this play within the play relies too heavily on the props and not heavily enough on the plot to be very satisfying.

At times hard to follow, and most of the time we don't much care. It's the story of a writer and his wife and the reality that overlaps with the pulp fiction novel someone (therein lies the key) is writing. Amid the publishers' rejection letters, there are secret lives being carried on, secret rendezvous in dark alleys and artists garrets for Ernest and his wife Sabine, their friends and neighbors, a serial killer, and the bartender at the obligatory atmospheric nightclub.

The loose ends are wrapped up tidily at the end but the conclusion comes out of nowhere. Saturated with the sights and sounds of noir, and though the jazz trumpet sound of Miles Davis does its best to set the tone, tone is not enough to sustain the film. Visual devices are rampant, such as a telephone looming large in the foreground lets you know it is about to ring, so you don't really have to invest much of yourself interactively. If you're in the mood for a stylized Hercule Poirot type teleplay (but lacking the well-crafted logic of Agatha Christie), this may be an acceptable way to pass the time.