Le voleur: A family drama that gets way too messy

Is this worth a watch?

Look, if you like old-school French drama where everyone is making terrible decisions, you’ll probably dig this. If you need pacing that moves faster than a snail or if you have zero patience for guys who act like total creeps, maybe skip it. It’s definitely not for everyone, but there’s a weird, prickly energy here that stuck with me.

Simone Simon is doing a lot of heavy lifting with just her eyes in this one. You can see the panic setting in every time she has to go out and 'find' more money to keep her husband satisfied. It feels like she’s holding her breath for the entire ninety minutes.

Then there’s the nephew. Man, I wanted to reach through the screen. His 'love' for her is just pure, unadulterated obsession. Watching him go to the detective to snitch on her? It’s cold. It reminded me a bit of the tension you find in A Midnight Bell, where you just know things are going to fall apart, but you have to watch the slow-motion car crash anyway.

The cinematography is… well, it’s functional. There’s a scene in the second act where the lighting hits her face in this really jagged way, and it perfectly captures how trapped she feels. Then the scene just ends. No music swell, no dramatic fade, just cut to black. It felt kind of abrupt, but I liked that.

I caught myself wondering if the husband even noticed she was acting like a nervous wreck half the time. Probably not. He’s too busy being the center of her universe, which is honestly the saddest part of the whole movie. 🙄

The detective character is a bit of a snoozefest, to be honest. He shows up, does his job, and kind of just blends into the wallpaper. You don't really feel like he's a villain, he's just a guy doing a job, which makes the betrayal feel even sharper.

It’s not as punchy as The Night Hawk, but it’s got its own weird mood. I wouldn't say it’s a masterpiece, but I didn't reach for my phone once. That's a win in my book. Sometimes you just want to watch people ruin their lives for an hour and a half.

Random thoughts:

• The coats in this movie are fantastic. Everyone looks like they’re hiding something in their pockets.
• The nephew’s haircut is a choice. A bad one.
• I’m still not sure if the husband is supposed to be likable or just incredibly dense.
• The silence in the final act? It’s heavy.