The Conformist (1970) Review

 THE CONFORMIST-1970 

DIRECTOR- 

Bernardo Bertolucci

CAST- 

Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Pierre Clementi, Dominique Sanda  

THE CONFORMIST (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)- A conformist is one who conforms to the accepted behaviour by following the accepted life being followed by everyone around him sacrificing his own identity in the process.

Adapted from Alberto Moravia’s novel, the story follows Marcello Clerici working for the fascist government sent to assassinate his former college professor now a political dissident who has fled Italy. We starts with Clerici in being driven by a man in pursuit of the professor and then non-linearly recounts Clerici’s life to this point, fleshing him out as we cut back into the present at times.

Though initially, Conformist might feel like a thriller, but it’s more of a character study. Will Clerici assassinate the professor or not, is not the core and the story is more interested in Clerici himself and through his interactions with the people around him, looks at the nature of a man working to facilitate Fascism.

The production design with its recreation of the era, the costumes and Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography are jaw dropping.. The shots of the car in the snow filled terrain, the vast and empty hallways, the orange light from the sun through the train window,  the use of light and shadows, this is among the best looking movies I have seen with visual imagery that will forever stay stuck with you. Georges Delerue’s score is a thing of beauty and does its job of conveying the character and the world beautifully.

This is a movie of moments where the moments come together to create a shattering finale followed by a sobering epilogue.  The scene at the confession and the exact moment when the priest absolves Clerici is worth noting. Then the sequence where he first gets a gun and his response to that. The way he interacts with the women around him and his relation with Giulia, everything adds up to give an extremely weak-willed man whose own identity has been lost in his attempt to conform. And watching the story come together is a delight, as things fall into place and you begin to look at things with greater clarity.

Jean-Louis Trintignant as Clerici plays the role of a hollow man perfectly. Stefania Sandrelli and Jose Quaglio are both good but it is Dominique Sanda as Anna who comes in late and steals the movie with her relation with both Clerici and Giulia. Her dance sequence with Giulia is one of the visual high points of the movie and all the dancers closing in on Clerici is a beautiful shot. Like the Italian movies of that period the original audio is dubbed and the people who dub it aren’t necessarily the same actors. So, for those who are unfamiliar with this method, can feel a bit thrown off so that needs to be kept in mind while going in.

Conformist is a movie with great depths which the more you will dig into the more you will get out of, thereby further increasing your appreciation of a masterfully told political and philosophical commentary through a character study. I won’t say, I understood everything the movie and certain aspects of the story did leave me confused, but it doesn’t matter in the context of the entire movie and how it beautifully portrays it themes to create a haunting  and devastating experience that despite being quite a cold movie will keep on growing on you once you are done with it.

VERDICT- 10/10