Le Cercle Rouge
I first heard about Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Le Cercle Rouge” (translated to “The Red Circle”) when John Woo presented a rerelease of the crime drama while he was making films in America. As I was getting deeper into cinema in the late ’90s/early ’00s, the easiest way to get me excited about a film is if one of my favorite filmmakers put their name on the reissue of it, or produced it themselves. As you watch this 1970 film, you see a lot of the elements that Woo would incorporate in his own bloody heroism films in the ’80s through 1992’s “Hard-Boiled.” The line between good and evil is razor thin, and the characters- especially Alain Delon’s Corey- look impossibly cool.
The film begins with three men driving in the streets; they appear to be both getting away from something and moving towards something. We see Corey as he is let out of prison for good behavior. Next we meet Vogel (Gian Maria Volontè), handcuffed on a train, but manages to escape and make his way to the woods. The officer he escapes from is Mattei (André Bourvil). Corey has found out about a jewelry store that can be robbed. These three men are destined to be brought together.
There is a quote, attributed to Buddha, about how men, sometimes unknowingly, are to meet one day, and when they do, it will be in the red circle. It is in fact a quote written by Melville, and it gets to the heart of the film. We know that Vogel and Mattei will meet again, and that Corey will undoubtedly be involved. How Corey and Vogel come into their respective orbits is a story for the film to tell you, but what is so intriguing is how Corey- who is driving the vehicle Vogel will get in- is calm and collected about it, even when Vogel pulls a gun out. By the end of their initial meeting, we understand that there is an inherent honor amongst these thieves that will carry through the rest of the film. One could even call it a friendship. It’s easy to see why Woo connected with this film so much.
“Le Cercle Rouge” may feel like a film that doesn’t need to be almost two and a half hours, but what Melville is doing is indulging in a style that is radically different than, say, the Man With No Name trilogy by Sergio Leone, but is instantly memorable and compelling. The way he baits the hook at the beginning. How we understand there is a connection between Corey and the naked woman on the other side of Rico’s bedroom door before Corey places a picture of her in Rico’s safe. The scene at the billiard hall, where Corey institually knows he will likely get into a fight as he plays pool. The scene where Vogel is racing to cross a stream before the police dogs catch up with his scent. And of course, the jewel heist that leads us into Act III. We’ll come back to that. Melville, like Leone, understands that sometimes, less dialogue is better. Let the actions of the characters define them, and see if their words can back it up.
The film’s heist scene must be one of the all-time great scenes in any crime drama. Yes, Michael Mann’s “Heat” rivets us with his propulsive musical choices and cross-cutting. Yes, “Ocean’s Eleven” is more fun to see unfold. But for 27-straight minutes, we watch as Corey, Vogel and Jansen (Yves Montand) go through the act of robbing this jewelry store with no words between them; instinctively, they trust one another, and all know their part to play. Jansen is a former police officer who quit the force, but is more than willing to be the marksman for the trio’s plan. If all goes well, no one will die, and all he has to shoot is a lock. In a lesser movie, Jansen would be a likely turncoat, but for the most part, his days of being responsible for law and order are gone; that doesn’t mean he wants to be connected to what Corey and Vogel are doing. All the while, Mattei seems two steps behind, but knows just the right buttons to push to get cooperation so he can catch his man.
Melville is a director whose style may seem unassuming now from a visual standpoint, but his aesthetic goes beyond cool images. The performances of his actors are revealing for how they present themselves, not how quippy their dialogue is. Corey is a born leader, willing to pivot when he needs to, but also interested in the needs of his team. Vogel is a wild card- his actions reveal someone not afraid of violence, but he also understands what a situation will require. Mattei’s dogged determination to catch Vogel leads to some dark places, but he ultimately does only what is necessary. These are the central performances of the film, but every actor makes the most of their time onscreen. That Melville has created such a rich criminal underworld with the simplest choices makes it not very surprising Woo was inspired by him. I only wish more understood what “Le Cercle Rouge” benefits from, and tried to adapt it into their own as successfully as Woo did.
