La puerta cerrada

This film is a solidly directed and acted crime thriller, but unfortunately, director José Giovanni has the upper hand over screenwriter José Giovanni. This is paradoxical because Giovanni is considered to be probably the best screenwriter of French crime films, but here he succeeded in plucking on the romantic string so diligently that he sank into romanticizing mud, which made the motivations and logic of his characters unbelievable. In the second half, he intensively shows the good side of his protagonist, squeezing out and devaluing the previously well-functioning story and suspenseful moments. It is a film without big stars of the era, but that is the least I would blame it for, because the actors are not a weakness at all, and one wonders why, for example, Jean-Claude Bouillon did not become a famous face of French gangster films. Overall impression: 60%. (11.05.2014)