February 15, 2016
On the eve of WWII, Roger Flavières, the hero of this intricately plotted thriller (the basis for the Hitchcock classic of the same name), has been forced out of the Paris police force because his fear of heights caused him to botch a case. An old friend, the rich industrialist Paul Gévigne, approaches Flavières with a strange proposition: observe and follow his wife, Madeleine, who's recently been acting strangely. Flavières reluctantly agrees, and, of course, can't keep his distance from the entrancing Madeleine. The two strike up an odd friendship, and Flavières thinks it's romance. The two become closerâhe even saves her from a possible suicide attempt after she walks into the riverâand eventually Madeleine seemingly kills herself by throwing herself off a church tower, while the helpless Flavières watches the whole thing. The detective sinks into a deep depression and leaves the city, just as the war commences. He returns a broken man and encounters a woman whom he swears is his lost love, but who claims to be Renée Sourange. Boileau and Narcejac weave an increasingly clever suspense narrative with a truly inventive take on identity, obsession, and desire.