MisterWhiplash
The subversion here is that this is one of the Hitchcock "Wrong Man" type of movies, where a character (in his films it was always a man since, I suppose, that was his only real frame of reference when it came to these complicated thrillers as far as who the audience could see themselves in), but the one who is really figuring everything out and doing all of the hard work is Fanny Ardant's character. One might want to feel bad that Trintagnant is in this position of needing to prove his innocence, but for much of the film he seems to be in his own office hiding away while Ardant goes off to Nice, pretends to be a street-walker, follows suspicious characters and does all the work that one usually sees someone with authority do. Of course Ardant's Barbara isn't some professional at this and gets thrown into the thick of this mystery as much as Julien. But it's just the clever twist Truffaut (and writer and longtime collaborator Suzanne Schiffman) found adapting this book: we actually can have strong and quick-minded women who can solve a case bit by bit - in this case, as we see, a little acting training helps the learning curve - and I was impressed by just how much Truffaut puts on Ardant's shoulders to carry. When I got the DVD, I thought it would be the typical thing of it being Tritignant's movie with his lady friend by his side (again, think back to 39 Steps and North by Northwest for that template). So while Truffaut and Almendros get rich black and white photography of this story, setting it in a mood moreso than a specific time (some of Barbara's clothes cant be mistaken for being from after 1980), the film has a solid progressive undercurrent to it all. She has total agency, and Ardant is charming, assertive, and compelling in her performance (Tritignant is good too, though after a while I found his demeanor kind of one note - she carries much more of the charm between him, though he does try).Is some of this a little light or too reliant on those "a-ha# those two names match, snap fingers!" beats? Absolutely. That's part of the fun though, and if you key into it then theres not too much one needs to intellectualize about what goes on (unless one wants to read even deeper into the gender politics of it all, how women have to but also chose to act in a number of ways when its this male dominated sorta-scuzzy French crime world of the movies). What cant help but be brought up, as so many have done, is that this was Truffaut's final movie. It never has that feel of being some total, all-encompassing statement to me about Truffaut and his beloved Hitch. One can certainly try to read it that way, but I doubt he knew what was to come that would take him from the world so tragically young (he was 51, 52 I think, he was 50 when this came out). While I wouldn't rank what is Confidentially Yours as a light (though not necessarily overly comic) twisty dramatic-thriller as one of his finest, to his credit he didn't go out slumming it either; if anything, its style helps make it so that if one wanted to go from, say, Shoot the Piano Player right into this, the quality wouldn't be a terrible drop off.
rjkohn
Confidentially is truly one of the very best fun mysteries. Frankly,I don't quite understand how some do not seem to understand that this is just a wonderful way to pass a couple of hours. It certainly is not necessary to analyze each and every minute of the picture. I suppose that most of us have a few films, which we always remember and continually go back to contemplate. This is Confidentially. I have it on a quite old VHS and probably watch it at least once every few months. There are so many wonderful aspects. So very different from the run of the mill. I can watch over and over again the opening scene walking with the dog or the closing playing with the lens cap. What incredible music. Interesting, in another Truffaut film, the leg walking scene is vividly portrayed. Ardant is one of those very special French artists that never seem to change or for that matter, age. Twenty years after this film, she starred in Nathalie and Callas. She still is extremely beautiful. I sure would like to figure out just what is the French secret. Danielle Darrieux is still making pictures at 93. It has been more than 50 years since Jean Louis Trintignant became famous after his Brigitte Bardot film. BTW - there are so very many ever so interesting small pieces in Confidentially. One I really like is the one about the girl who comes to the office for a secretarial job interview. This picture is now 27 years old. Will we have to wait another 27 years for another perfectly coordinated and exquisitely designed film to appear?
barberoux
I was a bit disappointed by this movie. I expected a complex drama in the Hitchcock style but I got a mediocre story more like a Hitchcock TV presentation. It isn't a bad movie. It's more a vehicle for Fanny Ardant. She is a pleasure to watch and listen to. Jean-Louis Trintignant was also good. The writing wasn't all that great. The plot was simplistic and some scenes were clunky.
Jonathan Doron
The most suitable movie in the 80's to be filmed in black-and-white. Masterfully directed by Francois Truffuat. Huge part smart, swift, suspenseful and surprising; interesting almost to the very end, (the mystery is slightly better than its solution). Wish they'd make more like these.
