I have always thought Philippe Noiret was a pretty good actor, but I never realized just how good he was capable of being until I watched him in Claude Chabrol’s Masques. Perhaps that’s because, as an actor who has been in well over 100 films, he is not always at his best in every one of them. If your only exposure to Robert De Niro were films like the recent The Score and The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle you might rightly consider him a hack. Likewise, unless you have seen the rare film where Noiret really puts his heart into it, you might be forgiven for overlooking his talent and considerable charm. In Chabrol’s film, he plays a kindly, jolly television host in the Arthur Godfrey vein of a program that is something like American Idol for senior citizens. He is a beloved national icon. This being a Chabrol film, though, he also has a devastating secret. To say too much more would be to give away too much. Chabrol’s films are always twisty and intriguing and reveal their secrets in minutely measure portions. They are almost always satisfying, even if what was required was no more than a temporary diversion. Masques is more so because it is a satisfying mystery featuring a rich, darkly comedic turn by an actor who works often, but not often enough at the peak of his abilities.
by Matt Bailey | Source: Home Vision Entertainment DVD
31 Oct 2004 7:54 PM | Submit Comment
