L'homme pressé (1977) User Reviews

Weird and Original Tale of a Very Stressed Man, Who Cannot Afford to Waste Time

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 28 March 2005]

Pierre Nioux (Alains Delon) is a charming wealthy self-made dealer of arts and antiques, who lives in a hurry without spending time. When he buys a disputed house in the country, the daughter of the former owner, Edwige (Mireille Darc), meets his in a judicial contest and ends getting married with him. Pierre has a serious beginning of a heart attack, but he is disputing an expensive and rare Etruscan vase and does not pay much attention to his doctor. Meanwhile, Edwige gets pregnant and although loving him, she leaves home and hides herself from Pierre, who wants to anticipate her delivery in order to not waste nine months. Will he get the vase?

"L'homme pressé" is a weird and original movie with a very interesting and intriguing storyline. The performances of the cast is outstanding, highlighting the magnificent Alain Delon, in the role of a very stressed man who cannot afford to reduce his intense rhythm of life. He transmits this sensation to the viewer, in a great direction. Unfortunately, the VHS released in Brazil is dubbed in English, but anyway, this curious film deserves to be watched at least once. Further, the Brazilian title is ridiculous, giving a wrong idea of the lead character. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Um Homem Sem Escrúpulos" ("A Man Without Scrupulous")

Note: On 26 August 2016, I saw this film again.

A man in a hurry

[jotix100 · 6/10 · 28 February 2011]

It might be advisable for viewers suffering heart problems to stay away from this frantic paced film. At times the viewer feels dizzy watching its star, Alain Delon, running around like a chicken without a head. But we digress, this French film, directed by Edouard Molinaro was a vehicle for Mr. Delon, who is listed as the producer. It is based on a novel by Paul Morand, and of course, not having read it, we have no basis of comparison.

Pierre Niox, an antique dealer, is seen arriving by helicopter to buy a house in the country from a man that is on his death bed. Right after that, he is seen at an art exhibit of gold statuettes that were obtained by shady means, something that gets him in deep water with the African dignitary that discovers the deception. That incident serves to land him, and his right hand man, Placide, in jail.

In addition to his problems, Pierre Noix is besieged by Edwige, one of the daughters of the old man who sold the house. From her clear distaste for Pierre, Edwige falls head over heels with the man that whisks her away moments after she has told him off, to a rendezvous in Venice at one of the best hotels, where they cannot even enjoy an orgasm because of the staff's frequent interruptions.

It is no surprise that Mr. Noix is suffering a heart problem, something that is detected by a physician after Pierre's collapse attempting to stop a flight he has missed. His ambition leads him to sell all the pieces in his collection because what he really wants to buy is a rare VI century vase that has come for purchase. Edwige, who is expecting a baby, gives birth to a son, but his father is much too busy to greet his arrival. The irony of it all is that Pierre Noix would not enjoy the masterpiece he coveted.

Most of Alain Delon's scenes have him running at a breakneck speed. It is almost impossible to see him stay quiet for long. Edwige is played by Mireille Darc who was a distraction because the actress had such a blank presence in the films she played; she is an enigma in the movie. Granted, Ms. Darc is a beautiful woman, but as an actress she never projected any life to her characters. Michel Duchaussoy has much better luck than the star appearing as Delon's partner.

I'm late I'm late I'm late!

[morrison-dylan-fan · 6/10 · 12 March 2017]

After driving into the Italian Crime-style madness of Armaguedon,I started looking for another title starring Alain Delon that I could give to a friend as an Easter present. Keen on picking up something more serious than Armaguedon,I was pleased to find out from a DVD seller that they had recently tracked down a unique-sounding Delon Thriller,which led to me soon trying to keep up with Delon.

The plot:

Becoming known in the world of the elite as the man who can locate any item he desires, Pierre Niox sets his eyes and hands on getting the rarest antiques in the world. Taking his wife Edwige along to experience the jet-set lifestyle,Edwige finds her patients to be tested,by Niox pushing them to go across the world to get a new item before their feet have touched the ground. Revealing that she is pregnant with his child,Edwige starts to notice Niox becoming annoyed at her getting in the way of his true love: antiques hunting.

View on the film:

Moving Paul Morand's 1940's written novel into the end of the 70's,director Édouard Molinaro dips the pages into jet-set decadence,via stylish whip-pans gliding on the chic antiques Niox surrounds himself with. Whilst using Niox's obsession to give the title a glossy appearance,Molinaro digs into Niox via his impatient for Edwige's baby,which unveils the less than pristine side of his personality. Filling Niox's hands with every valuable that catches his eyes,the screenplay by Maurice Rheims & Christopher Frank ruthlessly dissect Niox's uncontrolled love of material items,that reach an absurdist level when Niox begins treating Edwige's pregnancy like an auction.

Staying close to the shallowness of Niox's life,the writers make the shots at Melodrama ones that run dry,due to all the characters having been kept at a skin deep level. Traveling round the world with his then- eye-catching girlfriend Mireille Darc as Edwige, Alain Delon gives a great, dashing performance as Niox which sweats with greed,as Niox hurries over to getting his hands on the ultimate antique.

A king ain't satisfied till he owns everything!(Bruce Springsteen)

[dbdumonteil · 19 November 2005]

A remake was made this very year (a made-for-TV work) in which Anthony Delon takes on his daddy's part.I have not seen it but the 1977 work is an oasis in the desert of Delon's movies in the seventies (except for the masterful "M.Klein" ,the two Alain Jessua and at a pinch Giovanni's "deux hommes dans la ville").Even his then-partner Mireille Darc succeeds in showing some emotion.

Delon portrays a man who wants to buy valuable things from the manuscripts of the Middle-Ages to masterpieces .But unlike his character in the remarkable "M.Klein" (1975)he buys for the sake of buying,of leaving the others behind.His assistant is played by Michel Duchaussoy,who serves the star as a foil,as he did in "traitement de choc" and "Armaguedon" the two Jessua works.And however Duchaussoy is at least as good an actor as Delon.

The film does not lack tempo ,which is necessary when you deal with such a subject: a man in a hurry.His attitude becomes more and more pathological as he tells his wife that it takes too long to get a child and seven months are enough,cause the baby is "complete".

An important point, no hurry, is made

[jgcorrea · 6/10 · 25 November 2019]

In the French drama "The Hurried Man" Alain Delon plays... a man in a hurry. Id est, a different side of his usual persona. With his characteristic subdued, dark and mysterious way, he played remarkable roles in Rocco, L'Eclisse, Le Samourai, The Leopard. He mostly used to portra chilly, calculating characters, a default type that goes overboard here. Delon runs from one place to another, always hot, restless and impulsive. He doesn't think very far ahead as an art dealer. The film balances itself between black humor and drama. In the beginning his haste and collecting obsession are funny. After a while it becomes problematic. The dramatic aspect gets the upper hand, at some point the spectator's sympathy for him diminishes. This story was certainly in the right place. The role was certainly unusual for the male sex symbol of the 1960s. Edouard Molinaro, even though he had directed Brigitte Bardot in such an idiocy as A Delightful Idiot, was certainly (otherwise) competent to the point.

Unusual, unique, beautiful

[grybop · 8/10 · 22 August 2001]

L' homme pressé is a highly original movie based on a book that was written in the 1940s. The director uses the story of a constantly anxious antiques collector in order to make a comment on the limits of uncontrolled passion, if there are any, and, more generally, on the pressure we get every day from living in a material world. The main character, played excellently by Alain Delon, is a man driven by his passion for antiques; his personality is described thoroughly throughout the film, bit by bit, revealing little information about the collector's inner thoughts at a time, and, although it seems that some of his motives are not fully explained, the director succeeds in transmitting the feeling of stress that overtakes him.

L' homme pressé is an unusual, quick-paced movie that is definitely worth watching. Beautiful music, too.

8

If he was hurried then ...

[dierregi · 4/10 · 11 August 2021]

We are introduced to Pierre, the Delon character, a man who lives in a state of constant agitation. I get the point, but Delon's acting is weird to say the least. He seems unfocussed, frantic and manic rather than hurried. In today's world he would be treated with Xanax.

The meeting with Edwige, the Mireille Darc character, is the epitome of the silly. I am not concerned with the lack of politically correct, but basically Delon tells her that he will call her by her name when she gives him a price, meaning that he calls by their name only prostitutes...

Edwige is the heir of a house sold by her father on his deathbed, therefore not a prostitute but addressed as such. Darc did not struck me as a good actress. In this film she acts with her dreadful haircut and mostly stares at Delon, waiting to blurt out her silly lines. She should be antagonistic but she just cannot pull it off.

Running man or man on the run?

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 5 May 2022]

Very strange film for Delon but where he is absolutely convincing in this never satisfied character role, a man running about himself or something which he can never reach. A never satisfied art dealer, collector, a man who literally hurts the people aroud him who love and support him. A man unable to really love what or whom he gets, because he is always in the hurry to get something or someone else that or whom he will forget just after. It may be dizzy to watch, you may feel uncomfortable for those people. Not a susual role for Alain Delon but, I repeat, more than convincing.

interesting

[Vincentiu · 19 November 2014]

for cast, for script, for rhythm, for the humor and levels of drama. a film about a form of hunt. cruel, chaotic, idealistic, strange and without chance. one of real good roles of Alain Delon who, before be an image - and many characters from period uses only the seductive image of actor- gives a special anti-hero , mixture of emotions and decisions and cruelty , remember the aura of Romanticism silhouette in right manner. short - a film of Delon because Mireille Darc remains a delicate shadow and that fact does the first part of film not really convincing. a film about sense of life and about ambition. interesting. and little more. because it remember the art of a legendary actor.

The film is based on a wonderful book written by Paul Morand

[sebparis · 5 August 2002]

The film is based on a wonderful novel written by Paul Morand in 1940-1941 (not in in the 30's as mentionned in the other comment).