Elevator to the Gallows Film Review by Eli Tecktiel

Although film noir is considered to be an American movement, Louis Malle's debut feature, Elevator to the Gallows, is just as authentically noir as Double Indemnity or Out of the Past.  At first glance, the plot looks painfully familiar: a seductive femme fatale (Jeanne Moreau) convinces her lover to murder her husband. Everything that happens after this point, however, is completely original. Set to a fantastic original score by Miles Davis, the film never fails to create an atmosphere that is visually satisfying, yet so discomforting. 

Given the fact that this was Malle's first film, it isn't perfect. However, it doesn't try to be. Elevator to the Gallows is one of the most unpretentious art films I've seen. The intricacy of the situations in the film are purely entertaining. 

Yes, it's somewhat of an homage to American noir, but Malle's own innovation's to the style should be acknowledged. The two simultaneous story-lines and the way the intersect is not something that you'd see in your average low-budget film noir. In Elevator, Malle demonstrates an excellent knowledge and understanding of American cinema. Additionally, he shows potential as an extroidinarily talented storyteller, something he would further prove with his later films such as Atlantic City and Murmur of the Heart. 

The entire film revolves around two separate relationships. Every action that a character makes is due to the great pressures of the relationship they are in. None of the main characters ever act alone; they are constantly taking risks and breaking the law, not for themselves, but because of a devotion to something that vaguely resembles love. 

By the end of the film, all four characters have made severe mistakes. Throughout the film, the viewer assumes that only one person will suffer the consequences, and the rest of the characters will simply go on with their lives. Soon enough, however, it becomes clear that the past catches up with everyone, eventually.

5/5