(***1/2)
Accused, court-martialed and imprisoned. Back in late 1800s France, the Dreyfus Affair was a national scandal. Oddly, some of the trumped-up machinations of that case seem so relevant these days
With author/screenwriter Robert Harris (Conclave) on board, alongside veteran writer/director Roman Polanski, anyone looking for thoughtful, tight and illuminating writing gets what they want. The characters are complex. The politically charged elements are in place. Lots of well-staged drama. Peppered with a few vital action scenes. It all makes the base story about a wronged man’s path to freedom absorbing enough to keep adult viewers’ attention riveted from beginning to end.
Soldiers march and gather at the École Militaire, a military training facility in Paris. Not for a celebration, but for a denunciation. Captain Alfred Dreyfus (Louis Garrel), a Jewish officer in the French Army, is stripped of his medals and stripes, down to the gold-colored piping on his pants. The humiliation is administered by a Captain Marie-Georges Picquart (Jean Dujardin, Oscar-winner The Artist), among others. The degradation comes after Dreyfus has been accused and convicted of selling military secrets to Germany. A treasonous act. He’ll spend the rest of his life in prison on Devil’s Island. Marooned off the coast of French Guiana, South America.
For taking part in the court-martial, Picquart is promoted to the head of Intelligence. There he finds a bureaucracy mired in bad habits, traditions and corruption. He takes steps to bring the office under his control. Sifting through official papers and holding his staff accountable, he catches them fabricating lies. Schemes that include plots against Dreyfus and railroading him too, in part because he’s Jewish. That discovery forces Picquart, who has a conscience, to do the right thing. To get a wrongfully convicted man freed. Who knew it would be so hard? That he’d stir up the wrath of the military and experience such condemnation.
The people are so distinct. Their ethics so clear. The difference between justice and injustice shouldn’t be that difficult to discern. But yet this small case became a national scandal pitting pro- and anti-Dreyfus factions against each other. The hardened politically charged divisions of today seem so modern, until you witness this centuries-old social/political war. Watching stalwart advocates stand up for an innocent man and get maligned in the process is a timely lesson in courage.
Every scene is impeccably crafted, directed, acted and produced. Picquart, as the onscreen protagonist, perfectly conveys the feelings of a reluctant hero to the audience. His engrossing character arc includes condemnation, revelation, a fight for justice and an unwavering will. Scenes with his sneaky subordinates and duplicitous superiors are chilling. The looks on Dreyfus’s face, the mostly offscreen protagonist, as he’s pulled deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole not of his making, are sobering, too. The dynamics intensify until the subterfuge becomes wicked beyond belief.
Polanski is a masterful director. His accomplishments (The Pianist, Tess, Chinatown) are well known. What’s unknown? Can an 86-year-old man, Polanski’s age in 2019 when this film was originally made, still summon the craftmanship needed to make this epic work? Well, it’s as if time stood still for him. He orchestrates the entire movie like a meticulous painter. From the opening sequences during the court martial with the beating sounds of drums as the camera (cinematographer Pawel Edelman, The Pianist) moves around soldiers who march in lockstep. To exquisitely lit indoor scenes in offices, courtrooms and parlors (production designer Jean Rebasse, Jackie) and period appropriate clothes (costume designer Pascaline Chavanne) that replicate culture, location and era. Polanski and his team pull you back into the 1800s and 1900s
What’s military becomes political. What’s political becomes social. It’s no wonder so many factions in 19th and 20th century France were caught up in this case. Besides the fight for justice, there was a dirty secret. A hatred of Jewish people fueled the vitriol. An unconscionable prejudice. One hundred thirty-five years later, it’s as if nothing was learned from this lesson.
Dujardin as Picquart takes his character from antagonist to warrior for justice in the most believable ways. It’s an emotionally controlled performance that somehow lets Picquart’s indignation break through. Garrel as the quieter officer projects Dreyfuss’ strength in the most concentrated, subdued ways. Never apologetic, always sure that he’s been wronged and others owe him for the tragedy that’s been hoisted upon him
Adult audiences will be riveted as they watch an innocent man maligned, bullies spitting venom and blatant antisemitism. Any parallels to the isms around today are easy to observe and note.
This is a masterwork based on a piece of history that shouldn’t get lost. A narrative as relevant today as it was back during France’s third republic. When hostility towards the Jewish community was rampant. When truth and freedom were challenged. A timely, historical allegory.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcRpwG6Nl8g
Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.