THE SOFT SKIN [Francois Truffaut, 1964] - film review by Mandibil

Infidelity is as old as any theme in art I suppose. But from the top of my head, I cannot recall any other film that is so clearly fixed on the emotional dynamics as seen from a mans point of view. I always see a Truffaut movie as a snapshot of the diretor´s personal emotional journey. With regards to women, they have now evolved into a more balanced, reality based creature, compared to his earlier output. He still struggles with eliminating some very important illusions and those are the main course of this meal.

Pierre (Jean Desailly) is married and have a daughter. They live in a nice flat in Paris and the wife stays at home. He is a rather famous publisher and travels around the country on a regular basis, giving lectures about literature. On one of his trips, he meets a beautiful stewardesse Nicole (Françoise Dorléac). He approaches her gently and cultivated and she finally gives in and they engage in an, lets say, emotional relationship. Pierre decides not to let anyone know but instead he makes arrangements and tells lies to his wife and associates to be able to keep meeting Nicole. A large part of the movie deals with all these small planning nuisances. At some point the house of lies crumbles and he is caught in his own web. The wife starts to check him out all the while the relationship with Nicole slowly becomes more and more awkward. And slowly the viewer senses that the emotional attachment of Nicole may not be as deep as Pierre thinks and that he should wake up from his hormonal fantasy. He does not. The wife files for divorce and Pierre moves out expecting Nicole to start a new life with him. While inspecting a new apartment together, Nicole tells him that she cannot go on with their relationship and she just leaves. Pierre shows no emotions but returns to his old, regular table at his restaurant. When his wife finally figures out that another woman is involved, she brings a shotgun to the restaurant and shoots Pierre.

When are you supposed to be unfaithful? Is a glance at another person enough, is talking, is having dinner together.. It is more clear when it is adultery, but the slippery slope of attraction is a basically an inherent lie from the beginning and one of the basic illusions that Truffaut deals with. You have to be lying to yourself way before you start "falling in love" with arbitrary persons around you. The lie is that the relationship you are already in does not contain the potential for the necessary virtues and respect, to be based on love. But for all sorts of reason, primarily societal acceptance, you keep living the lie and distance yourself from your partner and then "suddenly" fall in love with a stranger.

Another illusion is that a relationship cannot be based on anything if it is not based on honesty at the core. His relationship with either women can never be honest, even if he thinks he is honest with Nicole. He has to cover up his ability to live in a shitty relationship for years and not caring enough to make it work. That is an inherent lie he has to excuse to get anything going with another woman. The final and maybe most important illusion is, that Nicole is his love. She is really just a pretty, but empty shell of nothing, who cannot engage in a meaningful relationship with anyone, since she has the emotional development of a child. She attaches to rich older men, who can supply her with attention and resources, but when she has to commit, she runs away to find another superficial, parasitical relationship. Pierre is incapable of analyzing Nicole in any way and runs this into the ground and then he still does not understand what is going on. He will not face his own lies. The viewer has long been aware that he is out of touch with reality and we are distancing ourselves from him. This is a situation Truffaut uses to make us reflect about our own emotional and sexual weaknesses, but he also cleverly uses it to justify the wife´s final revenge over him.

Another interesting trait is emerging from his work is the emotionally shut or inhibited male. In "The 400 Blows" it came across as escapism. In "Shoot The Pianist" it came across as character suicide. In "Jim & Jules" as beta male handover of own destiny to a woman. Here we are dealing with the standard male personality, not a particular type. He is a snapshot of the state of masculinity of the bourgeoisie and devoid of character and personality type. He could be no one or any one.

There are clear signs of Hitchcock inspiration. Particular in some shots from inside cars, but also in the long buildup to the final "showdown" between man and wife. This mix of suspense and extramarital affairs does not work that well. It does not encumber the film, but it does not add anything useful either. The final shotgun scene seems a bit out of place in this sort of gentle story and i would presume that Truffaut was going for the Hitchcockian surprise attack in the end. The rather unemotional man is met by a tsunami of female emotions and it literally "blows him away". What men need to do is learn how to find emotional balance and develop their communication skills, within their relationships, because otherwise they will end up in dishonesty and destruction. Virtue and honesty brings love, not some stupid bimbo on an airplane.

Rating: 6/10