On P List of Movie Reviews
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Pickpocket (1959)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
1/22
1/22:
Like many classic black-and-white French pictures, Pickpocket moves slow.
One of the most annoying acting techniques is to look at a person, down to the floor as if there's a line
to read, and look at him again to say it. It's been constant throughout this film. Martin LaSalle, who's a
cross between Montgomery Clift and Henry Fonda, is the biggest offender, but I'll excuse him because he
was a nonprofessional actor coming into this.
There isn't much of a story. Michel is an incarnation of Rodion Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment.
The only interesting part is the display of pickpocketing tricks. They don't seem believable, but I think
it's because if the characters did it for real, it would've looked too fast or impossible to capture on video.
Then, I thought about pickpocketing in general. Where had I seen it done? The answer is...never. Who does that
for real? There are easier ways to steal. Anyway, it turns out that less people carry cash and that the art of
pickpocketing takes a lot of patience to master which is something thieves don't have in abundance nowadays.
I read that Paul Schrader credited Pickpocket as the influence for
American Gigolo, but I never saw the connection for the longest time
until the end. Now, I can see, but the scene with Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton is a lot more powerful.
All in all, too dull to be enjoyable, Pickpocket is best reserved for film snobs.