The Fire Within (1963)

 

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The Fire Within (1963) – L. Malle

Apparently, director Louis Malle identified so much with Alain Leroy, the protagonist of Pierre Drieu La Rochelle’s novel, that he even dressed actor Maurice Ronet in his own clothes.  Malle was reportedly insecure about his ability (despite several awards and commercial successes, including Les Amants, 1958), and saw glimpses of himself in the character who feels at a dead-end at age 30 after a (short) lifetime spent indulging himself with nightlife and women and especially alcohol.  When we meet Alain he has been living at a clinic in Versailles, separated from his American wife (still in New York) and his friends (all in Paris); he is introspective and unwilling to leave despite having been detoxed and “cured”.  After sleeping with his wife’s visiting go-between, Lydia, he restlessly decides that he should kill himself – but first, he makes one last trip to Paris to say goodbye.  His encounters with his old friends prove rather unsatisfying:  they have either matured into adulthood (with wife, kids, career) or they remain as they were but seem distant or foolish.  Anyone who has struggled with depression can see Alain’s troubled self-loathing in Ronet’s eyes and in the way he alternately lashes out at others and wallows in his public shame (feeling he is seen as a burnt out degenerate). It’s an impressively complex and sad performance.  However, the film, despite Alain’s downward trajectory, occasionally offers reasons for living. Alain’s friends profess their love and try to convince him that he has things to contribute. The film itself, with its beautiful B&W cinematography (by Ghislain Cloquet) and its thoughtful piano score (by Erik Satie), often stops to observe Paris, its people, and Alain’s immediate surroundings.  This sensual experience reminds us of those little pleasures that the mindful existentialist can focus on to keep angst at bay.  However, it is not enough for Alain.