Monsieur Hire
May 2008 Reviewed by: Mischa Hayek Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Monsieur Hire is Patrice Leconte’s superb adaptation of a novel by Belgian writer Georges Simenon called Les Fiançailles de M. Hire (English translation: "Mr. Hire’s Engagement"). It is about a lonely middle-aged man and his tragic obsession with a young woman who lives in an apartment across from his. The prolific Georges Simenon is most famous for creating the fictional detective Inspector Maigret.

Monsieur Hire (Michel Blanc) is an awkward, small, balding man who works in his own shop as a tailor. Neat and fastidious, he is disliked by his neighbors for his aloofness and is the object of ridicule and pranks by the neighborhood children. Hire has no friends and seems utterly alone. His apartment overlooks the residence of a young woman, Alice (Sandrine Bonnaire), who entertains her lover Emile (Luc Thuillier) there in full view of M. Hire. Hire spends hours at night watching Alice and Emile and he develops an obsession for the young woman. One night during a thunderstorm, a flash of lightning reveals his voyeurism to Alice. Despite her initial shock, she continues to display her body to M. Hire, often looking across at his apartment as she undresses. Eventually, Alice comes up to Hire’s apartment where the two meet and begin an unusual relationship. At about this time, a young woman is found murdered in a nearby park. A witness sees a man running in the direction of Hire’s apartment building, and soon Hire is the prime suspect of the police detective (Andre Wilms) assigned to the case. But we suspect that the police detective may be looking for the wrong culprit and that Alice’s interest in M. Hire may have a hidden purpose.

Sadly this DVD release has limited bonus features: a theatrical trailer, stills from the movie, and a two-minute interview with director Patrice Leconte. A film of this quality deserves more consideration. Kino Video had ample opportunity to search for additional material to package along with the film given that Monsieur Hire’s theatrical release took place 19 years ago.

Considering the age of the film, the video quality is not all that bad -- colors are fairly punchy and the level of detail is good. However, it’s not outstanding, and I was sometimes put off by the intense yellows and reds in some scenes, although, admittedly, this might have been the way the film was originally shot. No matter, the picture quality is merely good and certainly not reference grade. The stereo soundtrack has reasonably good clarity, but dynamics are lacking and some distortion is evident.

Director Leconte said he wanted to make a dark thriller about erotic love. He did much more than that. He reveals how loneliness can drive a man to sacrifice himself just for the promise of a small amount of affection, and how he gives the object of his desire such attributes as loyalty and honesty that she does not in reality possess. Monsieur Hire also says something about the cruel nature of people around us. When the young girl is found murdered at the beginning of the story, the first person everyone points to is M. Hire -- the one who is slightly different and doesn’t fit in. Even the police detective pushes Hire harder than he might have another suspect. Monsieur Hire is beautifully filmed and a treat for the foreign film aficionado.

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