A POST ON CHARACTER REGARDING JEAN LUC GODARD'S 'DÉTECTIVE':

If there ever was an example given that proves the old saying "too many cooks spoil the broth", it must be given in the form of looking at Jean-Luc Godard's 1985 film Détective. It sounds good on paper, a simple detective story with an integrated plot through different groups of people, hence me purchasing the film a mere week after watching Au Bout De Souffle (an example of an amazingly unique piece of art from JLG).

The reality is, this film sucked.
I got to about half way through the film, paused to take a sip of my drink, and in that second of drink-sipping, had a moment of clarity. I was 40 minutes into the film and had no idea what was going on. Well, I lie, I knew the basics, could distinguish between the different time periods, flashbacks and so on, however it was the lack of affection and connection with the characters that made me feel an almost distance between me and the film, almost that I felt like I couldn't watch the film due to not having the slightest clue about the character of anyone in the film.

One of my main pleasures in watching films is connecting to the characters. I think it's such a vital part of any film, and in this genre particular, detective films, half of the fun is playing the guessing game throughout the film of who killed who. It was simply impossible in this film to get any enjoyment from the (many) scenes where two characters discuss their lives and thoughts and the problem, in my opinion, is the sheer quantity of dry characters.

When comparing this film to Pedro Almodovar's Women on The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, a film with many characters surrounding the central plot, we see just how much the development of characters contrasts. WOTVOANB is an amazing film to look at in terms of character development and control, with the characters lives capturing yours for the 85 minutes of the film (10 mins shorter that Détective, can I just point out).

Nathalie Baye, Johnny Hallyday & Jean-Luc Godard

 This film was only just over an hour and a half long, and, although I state the character development is flawed, the film itself did not drag on at all. The framing of a lot of the shots were aesthetically pleasing, and let's be real, I have a weakness for the French language.. which counts as a legitimate reason, right?
All joking aside, the film paced itself decently, and I feel an extra ten, fifteen minutes at the start, introducing the audience to the characters in an engaging and natural way would have benefitted the film hugely, and changed my opinion on the film in general.

I'm not 100% sure whether JLG was given an embarrassingly bad script to work with, or if he made the decision for some obscure creative reason, but all in all, in my opinion the films big potential was definitely not achieved. I have a massive respect for JLG as a director, and in no way will this film be putting me off researching and watching more of his films, but hey, i'm just shooting the messenger auteur.