Wrong interpretation of Meursault's character imho

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Benjamin Voisin

Rebecca Marder

Pierre Lottin

Albert Camus

François Ozon

Philippe Piazzo

In 1930s Algeria, the daily life of an indifferent Frenchman is shaken by the death of his mother and a fateful encounter on a beach.

L&apos;étranger

A very faithful and accomplished adaptation, but too self-conscious to truly carry the viewer away

The adaptation is very faithful to Camus&apos;s novel, with only a few minor deviations. It even reprises some verbatim passages at key moments in the story. It convincingly conveys Meursault&apos;s inner life, portrayed with great accuracy by Benjamin Voisin, all restraint and apathy, both unsympathetic and fascinating. Like the character of Marie, we are at once moved and repelled by him. He seems empty inside, falsely indifferent and devoid of emotion. He appears uninterested in life itself-only in appearance, however, since his final monologue, in which he finally erupts, reveals the full depth of his psyche and his relationship to the world. A relationship to the world that feels painfully tangible in him, for it is a world he does not understand, one from which he himself feels like a stranger. He seems to operate according to a value system of his own, whose ambiguity prevents us from fully grasping him.

François Ozon&apos;s direction is highly accomplished and renders the dramatic and emotional stakes of the story with great sensitivity and relevance, while placing it in context with classicism and elegance. The cinematography is beautiful, its composition meticulously crafted, magnificently showcasing Algiers and its surroundings in a way that fully immerses the viewer in the narrative and makes it tangible.

The film also takes a slight step aside and comments, with some distance, on the novel&apos;s post-colonial context, opening with fake television news footage and giving prominence to the Algerian victim and his family (the film closes on them). This contextualization, however, remains very cautious and never allows itself to challenge Camus&apos;s vision.

One may thus regret a languid, somewhat slow pace which, rather than fascinating and adding depth, tends to give the film a self-conscious quality-aware of its own merits and seemingly aiming for masterpiece status and the awards ceremonies that might accompany it. Crushed by the mythology of the book, the film becomes overbearing, stifling both discourse and emotion. Too theoretical and lacking visceral power, it is not the masterpiece it dreams of being. A shame, though it remains a very solid work and well worth seeing on the big screen.

Official Trailer

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzUwNGVmZjYtZmMyYy00Mjg4LTk4MmYtNTJjNzdmNmVhYjg0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXRyYW5zY29kZS13b3JrZmxvdw@@._V1_.jpg

The adaptation is very faithful to Camus's novel, with only a few minor deviations. It even reprises some verbatim passages at key moments in the story. It convincingly conveys Meursault's inner life, portrayed with great accuracy by Benjamin Voisin, all restraint and apathy, both unsympathetic and fascinating. Like the character of Marie, we are at once moved and repelled by him. He seems empty inside, falsely indifferent and devoid of emotion. He appears uninterested in life itself-only in appearance, however, since his final monologue, in which he finally erupts, reveals the full depth of his psyche and his relationship to the world. A relationship to the world that feels painfully tangible in him, for it is a world he does not understand, one from which he himself feels like a stranger. He seems to operate according to a value system of his own, whose ambiguity prevents us from fully grasping him.

François Ozon's direction is highly accomplished and renders the dramatic and emotional stakes of the story with great sensitivity and relevance, while placing it in context with classicism and elegance. The cinematography is beautiful, its composition meticulously crafted, magnificently showcasing Algiers and its surroundings in a way that fully immerses the viewer in the narrative and makes it tangible.

The film also takes a slight step aside and comments, with some distance, on the novel's post-colonial context, opening with fake television news footage and giving prominence to the Algerian victim and his family (the film closes on them). This contextualization, however, remains very cautious and never allows itself to challenge Camus's vision.

One may thus regret a languid, somewhat slow pace which, rather than fascinating and adding depth, tends to give the film a self-conscious quality-aware of its own merits and seemingly aiming for masterpiece status and the awards ceremonies that might accompany it. Crushed by the mythology of the book, the film becomes overbearing, stifling both discourse and emotion. Too theoretical and lacking visceral power, it is not the masterpiece it dreams of being. A shame, though it remains a very solid work and well worth seeing on the big screen.

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