Diabolique
(1996)
In a scene in Jerimiah Chechik's "Diabolique," the
director makes fun of his futile attempt to remake the
1954, French, Clouzot classic of the same name. Veteran
actress Shirley Knight switches around the TV dial and
comes across a channel airing the classic "Who's Afraid
of Virginia Woolf?" Quips the large actress, "I want
to see this but I'll wait until it's in color" (apocryphal).
Chechik realizes that to simply redeaux "Diabolique"
in color would be a waste of celluloid. He has to give
us more.
So, what does he do? Well, he plays up the water angle
of the film; He plays up the subdued lesbianism of the
two female principles; And he alters the surprise ending.
He also changes the male Detective character to a female
and casts Kathy Bates in the role. Then he gives her
breast cancer to further propel her motivation. All
of these, with the exception of the altered ending,
work fairly well. The use of water in the film is, quite
frankly, phenomenal. Chechik finds a place for the liquid
to flow or swirl in almost every scene. This was an
important sub-textural element in the original and it
tries to be one here. Chechik also moves the film's
setting to America and sets it in Pittsburgh, the "Three
Rivers" area. This is definitely an analogy for the
three principles. Chechik's stylish flamboyance here,
punctuated by the use of water throughout, might be
considered masterful if his plot-line didn't eventually
corrupt the film. As for the lesbianism, the principle
women just can't pull it off, even if it is the best
idea the film has. Isabelle Adjani is perfectly cast
as the frail wife of the school headmaster but Sharon
Stone, as always, powerhouses her way through her role
as the girlfriend. Stone is about as subtle and as appealing
as a bulldozer and her attempts at flirtations with
Adjani are as stilted and as static as anything in the
classic gay bomb "Making Love." Stone simply cannot
pull off this aspect of the plot. As for Bates: Although
her character is interesting, she too comes across as
a bulldozer here. She's too wordy and too jolting to
be introduced so late into the film. Her Detective is
loud and overpowering. She begins to block the more
subtle aspects of the film. In the climax, she is forced
into an ending that is both silly and unbelievable.
Her figure is the last thing we see in the film and
her action, without real character exposition, means
almost nothing.
On the down side, in addition to the altered ending,
is the almost total absence of the boys (of the school)
in the film. Here, even more so than in the original,
the boys' roles in the plot and theme are down-played
to disastrous effect. We have high expectations when
Adam Hann-Byrd ("Little Man Tate") opens the movie by
spying on Adjani, but this becomes the first of only
three times the boys do anything in the film. Later,
a boy again, as in the original, jumps into the pool
to retrieve keys. There is no impact in this version.
And then, Hann-Byrd appears again in a short and meaningless
scene with Adjani. There could be so much tension and
so much thematic exposition based on the young male
characters here and their relationships with their adult
instructors but it is lost. This is the film's biggest
flaw. In the original, this is the aspect that seems
most fertile for a expansion in a remake. Chechik and
scripter Don Roos avoid it completely. It's a sad mistake.
Chazz Palminteri plays the headmaster here and he
comes across like a Brooklyn thug stuck in a production
of "The Glass Menagerie." If Stone wasn't so horribly
bad in this film, he would surely be more noticeable.
His character never fits in with the other cast. We
never understand what Adjani would have ever seen in
him. It's a glaring problem in the film. Meanwhile,
Knight as well as other supporting cast members have
absolutely nothing to do here. Spalding Gray, Clea Lewis
(of TV's "Ellen"), and all the other bit players are
completely wasted in their roles. They add nothing to
the film whatsoever.
"Diabolique" could have been an interesting remake
in the hands of a better director. Chechik's only previous
work of merit is "Benny and Joon" and that certainly
doesn't qualify him to helm this film. Someone with
real visual savvy and an ability to create atmosphere,
which Chechik has in a small quantity, could do so much
better with this material. First and foremost, they
would insist on a better cast. Sure, Stone looks like
Simone Signoret, who played the role in the original,
but she has none of her style or subtlety. Imagine Adjani
with Sherilyn Fenn (with a dye job) and Gary Oldman
as her co-stars and you will surely see what I mean.
Furthermore, a better director might insist on a more
poignant ending. At least a more feasible one. This
one ends up all over the map.
If someone was indeed waiting for "Diabolique" in
color and in English, they sure missed out. The original
is a classic; This film is an American remake. A wise
film-goer will instantly know the difference.
Note: Director of Photography is Peter James. Music
by Randy Edleman, who also conducts and plays piano
on his pieces.
Review written in 1996
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