The Bride Wore Black (1968) - Francois Truffaut

Francois Truffaut's The Bride Wore Black is a fun, little thriller which finds the iconic director channeling his inner Hitchcock to deliver a gripping story about a woman out for revenge.  The film is focused around widow Julie Kohler, who is out for revenge after the accidental death of her beloved husband on the stairs of the church immediately following their wedding ceremony.  Tracking down the five men responsible, Julie uses her sex appeal to exact her revenge.  The Bride Wore Black isn't on the intellectual level of some of Truffaut's more acclaimed work, but it offers the opportunity to see Jeanne Monreau out for revenge, which should be more than enough to get most viewers excited.  This is a film that doesn't reveal the circumstances as to why this woman is out for revenge early on, letting more and more details emerge as the film progresses, giving the film a great aura of mystery and intrigue early on.  The opening sequence is a great example of this, where Truffaut uses compositions that make it quite clear this woman can't be trusted, often obstructing her body in the frame, giving her the look of a lurking force waiting for the right time to strike.  There is not only an air of mystery but almost a supernatural quality to Julie Kohler's character in this opening sequence, as The Bride Wore Black has a creeping dread in its tone in this sequence, something that is complimented well by the stoic, cold-blooded performance by Jeanne Moreau in the sequence.  Casting Monreau in such a role is stroke of genius, a beautiful actress who uses her skills of seduction to exact revenge on these five men.  None of these men are likeable in the slightest, being abrasive womanizers, which leads me to believe that Truffaut was trying to say something about the male gaze.  Julie is a character that uses her attractiveness to take advantage of the male gaze, easily dooping the majority of these men with ease due to their sexual appetite that unquestionably clouds their better judgement.  While much of the film is simply a creative revenge film, Moreau does add nuance to the role, showing moments of empathy for her victims at times, which seems to grow larger and larger the further she gets down her checklist of death.  She is a character that finds herself confronted with the morality of taking another person's life, and while I wouldn't say it's a major component of The Bride Wore Black, the acknowledgement is an important one.  Skillfully photographed and featuring a stellar performance by Moreau, The Bride Wore Black is a successful thriller from the iconic french director Francois Truffaut.

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