Le Doulos (1962)

 Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Doulos"


After the critical and commercial success of 1961's "Leon Morin, Priest," Jean-Pierre Melville returned to a familiar crime formula with 1962's "Le Doulos." Another commercial success, "Le Doulos" and its crime thriller format would become a normality for Melville. Aside from the simplicities that the genre provides, Melville still manages to inject this format with bleak, fatalistic themes.

The plot at times can be a bit convulsive. This is perhaps the intention, given that there is a bit of a revelation that clarifies things later in the plot. This confusion also adds to the lack of distinction between good and evil, cop and crook, etc. There is so much double-crossing, informing, and manipulative measures that is sufficient to make one's head spin. 

The ending of the film, along with its thematic point, reminded me a bit of Martin Scorsese's 2006 film "The Departed." Ending on a tragic note, the film illustrates the fatalistic nature of our protagonist's profession and the constant 'every man for himself' notion that gets demonstrated throughout. Without this ending, I would not have enjoyed this film, as it would've felt like just another bland crime thriller to me.




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