Cheaters Never Prosper - Elevator to the Gallows Review

Referred by: Mark Deezy

Two french movies in two days! I swear I didn't plan it out that way! The reason I picked this as my second movie is because I've been holding onto it for quite some time. (Sorry, Mark!)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The movie is in black and white. There's an adulterous affair introduced at the very beginning. The DVD cover informed me of a murder mystery. It's French. And last but not least, there's a beautiful jazzy score done by Miles Davis. Yeah, I think it's safe to say this movie screams Film Noir. The first shot is taken of a woman's eyes and instantly, I thought "it's like LOST!" (So that's where Team Darlton got their opening sequence ideas...)

THE STORY

Basically, we have a Woman cheating on her Husband. She then convinces her Lover to kill her Husband (who happens to also be his boss). Lover successfully kills Husband (and makes it look like a suicide), but like any murdering amateur didn't exactly clean up his trail completely. Hence, in another careless act, Lover leaves his car running as he rushes back to the scene of the crime but then gets stuck in an elevator! Meanwhile, his car is jacked by two equally stupid teenagers-- who decide to go on a little murder spree of their own! After a long night of crime the two youths realize they could be in a lot of trouble and thus try to poison themselves. But somehow, they find a way to screw that up as well. The next morning, police try to the pin the murder of two German tourists on Lover since his jacket, gun, etc. were found on the scene. (All items he left in his car when the two teenagers truly responsible for the murders took off.) Cheating Wife, who spent the whole night looking for Lover and pondering the decisions she's made becomes hellbent on proving her Lover innocent. Her search for the teenagers leads her to their scene of the crime and unfortunately, some very incrimination evidence against-- well, EVERYONE. Yup, that's right kids. Nobody got away with murder today!

THE VERDICT - Why I Enjoyed The Movie

Well... that's a little tricky. I like that there's a certain soap opera-esque quality to these film noir movies. Lovers love to the extreme and if they can't be together, it's truly the end of the world. As an extremist myself, I tend to enjoy those now or never, OMG I can't possibly live without you moments. In addition, I like hearing each main character's thoughts as they enter their own reveries/stream of consciousness. The amount of dramatic irony associated with this type of film is also exciting because I find myself screaming at the characters about their own stupidity or ignorance. Having said that, there are a lot of dumb characters in this movie! I mean, I'm no professional hitwoman but some of the careless mistakes these people make are certainly annoying! Thankfully, the final scene (SPOILER ALERT) in which Cheating Wife discovers that a few loving photos from Lover's camera are what essentially incriminate them, is handled in a very poignant way. The investigating officer explains to her that photos should never be kept, because they'll somehow serve as evidence for the secrets one keeps. But being the film noir, cheating woman, extreme lover that she is... all that matters is that the pictures show her and her lover happy and together, still inseparable-- no matter how severe the consequences they'll soon face, will be.