NEIGHBORS: MONSIEUR HIRE, PACIFIC HEIGHTS
Though I don't think REAR WINDOW is the best of Hitchcock's movies, I do admit it holds a tantalizing premise - to wit, what if one of your neighbors, someone who on the outside seemed ordinary and trustworthy, was up to something? These days, as more and more of the people who perpetrate horror on the world seem just like the people next door, this has special resonance, but back in 1990, this was just a premise for two films I saw to tell their story: Patrice Leconte's MONSIEUR HIRE, and John Schlesinger's PACIFIC HEIGHTS. The first one deserves any comparison to Hitchcock it got, but the latter only wishes it deserved the comparison.
The title character of Leconte's film, played by Michel Blanc, certainly seems like the type of person who people would suspect of being a murderer even as they say to the authorities, "But he seemed like such a quiet person..." Monsieur Hire lives alone in an apartment building, and runs a mail order business precisely because he wishes to avoid human contact. He says nothing to anybody except what's required. He does go to brothels to sleep with prostitutes, but that's okay because there's no names, and he doesn't have to talk to anyone. He also likes to watch, though. Specifically, he likes to watch Alice (Sandrine Bonnaire), the woman who lives across the courtyard from him. Every night, he looks at her through his window. At first, she doesn't notice.
Soon, another woman turns up outside the apartment building, raped and murdered. Naturally, the inspector (Andre Wilms) investigating the case suspects Monsieur Hire, because he's the type. He, or course, claims innocence and ignorance. But is he really ignorant? And why, exactly, is he watching Alice?
Leconte takes his story from a novel by Georges Simeon, a Belgian and one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century. At first, even though this is a short film (88 minutes), it does feel a little slow. But gradually, we get hooked in when we realize what Leconte is up to. Even as he follows the standards of a thriller (dead body, dark lighting, mystery woman), he's inverting our perceptions, all through the point of view of Monsieur Hire. We're programmed to expect him to be dark on the inside, so when he turns out to be something else, it's all the more surprising. Blanc deserves a large part of the credit here. He underplays throughout, and never calls attention to himself, yet his eyes show what's going on. It's easy to believe how Monsieur Hire could be seen as so nondescript and creepy at the same time. Bonnaire is also suitably mysterious and attractive as Alice. But Leconte is the one who makes this work. He understands here the atmosphere and the story should work hand in hand, and they do, making MONSIEUR HIRE a memorably creepy experience.
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