Aug 17, 2021
Così dolce... così perversa (So Sweet... So Perverse, 1969)
"The body was burned beyond recognition. A charred, deformed shape. Oh, Nicole... It was terrifying."
"Stop thinking about it now. What's really important is that you got what you wanted: he is dead and you are rich."
#Così dolce... così perversa#So Sweet... So Perverse#italian cinema#Giallo#1969#umberto lenzi#ernesto gastaldi#Riz Ortolani#carroll baker#Jean Louis Trintignant#erika blanc#horst frank#Helga liné#Giovanni di benedetto#Ermelinda de felice#Irio fantini#Dario michaelis#Beryl cunningham#Renato pinciroli#Leave it to Umberto Lenzi to get it into his head to make an Italianised giallo inspired by Clouzot's Les Diaboliques starring Carroll#Baker; in fact‚ the son of a gun did it twice. This is the first‚ the second being Paranoia (or A Quiet Place to Kill‚ there's a post for#It floating around in my giallo tag). This first film is certainly the better I think‚ and whilst it has a lot going for it (a typically#Brilliant performance of privileged disinterest from Trintignant‚ the wonderful Erika Blanc‚ a groovy title song‚ more blatant references#To lesbianism than the OG Diaboliques and a very snappy third act) I'd be lying if I said it didn't flag a little in the middle. Gastaldi's#Script is as punchy as ever tho‚ and the 88 films release has the added bonus of an interview with the writer in which he impishly reveals#His personal rules for writing gialli‚ bemoans Lenzi's difficult nature‚ and claims to have never written a film with flashback scenes#This film contains‚ by the by‚ several flashback scenes. God love him‚ I can't blame him‚ and besides the man is mid 80s (but looks great!)#Actually speaking of alive‚ this might be an odd thing to pick up on but it's so rare in the films I watch from this era: unusually‚ 3 of#The 4 principle cast members are still with us (Trintignant‚ Baker and Blanc). It's just nice‚ yknow? Anyway. This is probably a superior#Example of the early (ie. Pre 1970‚ ie. Pre Argento) giallo‚ but I do wish it had just been a little tighter around the middle
