Shock Treatment

Summary

“You’ve just suffered a cruel shock. Mr. Savignat was a friend of yours. But now we have to think of you. You must overcome this setback.”

As I was working my way through some films in Severin Film’s catalog, I realized that I had not yet purchased their recent release Shock Treatment. Given that the film stars one of my favorite actors of all time – Alain Delon – I couldn’t resist a blind buy. The film is a thriller from French writer/director Alain Jessua that has elements of social commentary and practical science fiction mixed in. When I got home from my day job, I watched the film last night. Like some of the other Severin releases I have watched recently, the film really impressed me.

As the film begins, Helene Masson (Annie Girardot) arrives at the cliffside Institut de Devilers on the coast of France. Helene feels somewhat empty despite her success in the professional arena. She is 38 years old and owns a womenswear line that has provided her a comfortable lifestyle. At the clinic she is diagnosed by Dr. Devilers’ associate Dr. Bernard as suffering from depression and fatigue from being overworked. She begins her treatment that involves saltwater baths, eating seaweed steak, and other alternative therapies offered at the institution. In her meeting with Dr. Devilers (Alain Delos) she reveals what has caused her fatigue at such an early age. She has been jilted. Her lover has replaced her with a younger model. This has made her feel every wrinkle that has developed. One of the treatments given to Helene involves an injection of some kind of elixir. Helene has a friend that is being treated at the clinic named Jerome (Robert Hirsch.) Jerome has blown through all of his money at the clinic and can no longer pay his own way. He warns Helene that the injections given at the clinic are addictive. The next day, Jerome’s body is found below the cliffs. Helene attempts to leave the clinic but she is told that she needs clearance from Dr. Bernard first. In their meeting, Dr. Bernard and Dr. Devilers warn her that leaving now mid-treatment would be at her own peril. Helene continues her treatment and also begins to investigate the practices of the clinic. She notices some very strange happenings at the clinic while also starting a fling with Dr. Devilers. 

Shock Treatment is the first film that I have seen from director Alain Jessua. Jessua began his career in film at the same time as Truffaut and Godard, but his style is not similar to those from the French New Wave. Jessua was not a prolific director, having only ten films to his credit before his death in 2017, but if this film is any indicator, he definitely had a strong cinematic voice. Considering that he wrote and directed the film, it can be assumed that his intended vision came through in the final product. His vision of rich elitists willing to do anything to stay young, no matter how reprehensible, still feels completely relevant nearly fifty years later. Health remedies and crash diets have only become even more popular since Jessua wrote his script.

To bring his vision to life, Jessua relied on cinematographer Jacques Robin behind the camera. Robin is best known for his work on Clouzot’s seminal thriller Les Diaboliques. The film is visually enticing from the first to the last frame as it soaks up the scenery of the French coast from the viewpoints of an Alfa Romeo, the bow of a boat, and a window of the seaside resort. Watching the film, I felt like buying two tickets for my wife and I to visit France as soon as possible, but I ended up settling for the images presented in the film.

The film benefits from the screen presence of stars Alain Delon and Annie Girardot. At the time of filming Annie Girardot was forty two years old and playing thirty eight years old. This works to the film’s benefit as age has begun to show slightly on the actress, probably more so than if she had actually been thirty eight. This adds an extra layer of realism to her character. Alain Delon was thirty eight at the time of filming. His boyish good looks showed hints of grey starting to shine through his full head of hair. Delon has been one of my favorite actors since I began watching him act in films by Jean-Pierre Melville (one of the greatest directors of all time) and as the murderous Tom Ripley in the classic Purple Noon. Delon is perfectly cast in the film and has no issue bringing Dr. Devilers to life on screen. Both actors bring a lot to their roles and sell the reality of the film.

It is worth noting that the film features a decent amount of full frontal nudity in a sequence where all of the residents of the facility go swimming in the ocean nude. It feels strange to say but in this case the nudity actually serves the plot. Hilariously enough, due to the fact that star Alain Delon is nude in this sequence for an extended time, the film was released in London under the title of Doctor in the Nude. Moviegoers that find nudity objectionable in film, even when done tastefully and without any simulated sex, will probably find that the film shows too much skin. I had no such issue in my viewing, but wanted to at least note this.

The music in the film has a bossa nova feel to it that calls to mind Jaoa Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and other performers in that genre. There is a reason for this that I don’t want to mention here, but I thought the musical choices were brilliant. Rene Koering’s score for the film under the supervision of Alain Jessua works perfectly.

The last thing I would like to mention about the film is that it has a clever eye for allegory. Once it is revealed that part of the treatment requires the slaughter of sheep in order to give the rich life, it is hard to miss the richness of that allegory. As the film unfolds, this allegory becomes even more rich. Jessua in his interview featured on this disc mentions that he looked at his screenplay writing from a literary point of view. In my opinion, it comes across on the screen.

In the same way that I found myself enamored with Severin Film’s release of Viy, I am just as content with my purchase of Shock Treatment. It’s a welcome addition to my film collection. I hope that more of Alain Jessua’s works come to Blu-ray in the future!

Video

Severin Films has provided a great transfer in 1080p of Shock Treatment in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with an MPEG-4 AVC encode. As I mentioned above, the cinematography by Jacques Robin is visually dynamic and appealing. There is a fine level of grain over the image which is to be expected. Fine detail is solid and the presentation should please all fans of the film. The movie certainly benefits from the HD treatment by Severin.

Audio

Severin Films has provided a very well done DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that can be listened to in either French or with the English dub. The sound quality on both tracks is excellent. The compositions by Rene Koering (under the direction of Jessua) are great – whether using bossa nova inspired music or Senegalese drumming – they fit the film perfectly. As one might expect, the dub sounds a little more cavernous than the original uncompressed French track. I actually enjoyed the dub pretty well when viewing the film, although both tracks work to the film’s benefit.

Supplements:

Alain Jessua – The Lone Deranger:  in this new interview with Bernard Payen, curator at The Cinémathèque Française, Payen discusses the career of filmmaker Alain Jessua and gives weight to the premise that Jessua was an auteur. This is a really interesting discussion of the film maker.

Koering’s Scoring – In this new interview with soundtrack composer René Koering, he describes how he became a composer starting as a copyist and then eventually working with Jessua on compositions for four of his films. His discussion of the vision Jessua had for the music is really enjoyable.

Director’s Disorder – In this archival interview with director Alain Jessua, the late filmmaker discusses his approach to filmmaking and writing.

Drumrunning – René Koering gives a commentary on three sequences in the film.

Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Shock Treatment is a really enjoyable thriller from writer/director Alain Jessua. The script of the film does a great job of weaving in strong social commentary without ever veering towards absurdist logic. The two leads in the film – Alain Delon and Annie Girardot – are both enjoyable onscreen. It must have taken a significant amount of bravery to be nude onscreen for extended periods of time in service of the film’s plot. The cinematography by Jacques Robin is beautifully realized and evokes the setting with each frame. I am very glad that Severin Films decided to bring this film to my attention. The technical specifications of the Blu-ray release are very good and the supplemental features are well appointed. I hope that Severin considers releasing some of the other films by director Alain Jessua, because at the date of this review this is the only film in his filmography to be released on Blu-ray. Highly recommended!