The Stranger

Bluesky

As with Albert Camus's book, François Ozon’s stylishly monochrome adaptation is divided distinctly into two parts.

The first half deals with the funeral of the main character Meursault’s mother about which he appears to show no emotion, preferring in the aftermath to continue his daily routine and head off to the beach or restaurants. In the days that follow Meursault (a stunningly charismatic Benjamin Voisin) meets Marie (Rebecca Marder in a sensuous performance) and strikes up a dangerous liaison of physical attraction in which any love remains conspicuously absent.

It’s all set against a background of 1930s Algeria, where hostility between the Arabs and white residents simmers close to the surface ready to break out at the slightest provocation into racial and colonialist tensions.

Meursault is surrounded by a rum bunch of acquaintances, from Pierre Lottin’s Sintès who beats up his Arab mistress (Hajar Bouzaouit) and finds himself threatened by her brothers, and a gruff neighbour Salamano (Denis Lavant in superlative form in a role that seems made for him) meting out cruelty to his poor canine companion. The victims in both cases are lesser forms of life in the eyes of the perpetrators.

For no apparent reason Meursault kills an Arab (never named by Camus but given identity by Ozon) and is thrown into prison - the only white among the intimates - and his incarceration and subsequent trial marks the second half of the narrative.

Meursault makes little attempt to defend himself in court with the prospect of a death sentence seemingly far from the worst outcome. His remarkable lack of emotion is also reflected in the way he treats Marie, telling her their relationship is meaningless.

Ozon remains faithful to the source and keeps its sense of mystery but has strengthened the female characters, giving Rebecca Marder’s Marie in particular more material to play to.

Meursault rightly remains a psychological puzzle, a constantly disturbing and enigmatic presence which Voisin’s performance underlines with hypnotic subtlety. The role reunites him with the director after Ozon’s Summer of 85, but The Stranger requires and receives a completely different and subdued register from the actor who rises to the challenge.

The monochrome photography, shot by Manuel Dacosse, suits the mood perfectly with the dazzling mix of light and shadow underscoring the dark emotions as they unravel while the landscape appears timeless, seductive and threatening all at the same time.

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