Last December I finally bought and read Henri Charrière's autobiography Papillon. I wasn't crazy about it at first and I only kept reading because it was damn expensive and I didn't want to waste money like that. Eventually, it grew on me and I ended up loving it. So when I learnt there was a movie based on it, starring no less than Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, I knew I had to watch it. I've been putting it off ever since because of its length. I wouldn't have missed much if I kept putting it off as Franklin J. Schaffner's Papillon isn't that memorable.
The film follows Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), also known as Papillon, who, wrongly convicted of murdering a pimp, is sentenced to life and imprisoned in the penal colony in French Guyana. On his voyage there, he meets Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a forger who sold fake government bonds. Degas has enemies, Papillon vows to protect him and, over the years, with Degas's help, he attempts to escape many times, despite solitary confinement being the punishment.
Whether you believe it to be true or not —I tend for the latter as they are a lot of inconsistencies and fabrications in his "autobiography"—, Papillon's book arguably is a fascinating and compelling one filled with many interesting adventures. It's obvious that it's not possible to fit 500 pages in a two and a half hour movie, and I was not expecting the film to even attempt at that. Unfortunately, the adventures it tells aren't as interesting as they were in the book as the film tends to drag a little and is tremendously slow paced at times. In addition, the many things left out from the book —Papillon being befriended by strange people all the time, from leppers to cannibals, for istance— make the film quite confusing for those who haven't read the book.
But while the story isn't nearly as entertaining as it was in the book, it still manages to capture the meaning of it. It is an ode to the human spirit, its strength and its desire for freedom; it portrays the weakness of human nature but also how much a man can endure; most of all it is a harrowing portrayal of the horrors of solitary confinement —arguably one of the worst things a human can do to another— and what it does to a man.
If Papillon is as effective as it is, the credits go entirely to the cast, specifically to the leading actor, Steven McQueen. Other than being exactly as I pictured Papillon while reading the book, he gives one of the best if not the best performance of his career, as he delivers the Papillon's struggles, both physical and psychological, to perfection, in a way that we, the audience, feel them, and whether it's happiness, hope, depression or insanity, you can read it on his face. Also noteworthy is the performance from Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega. The character, who only plays a minor role in the book —he isn't even sent to Devil's Island—, is very compelling because of Hoffman's excellent performance. The chemistry between McQueen and Hoffman, on the other hand, isn't that great —apparently they did not ge along on set— and because of it they fail to convey a sense of loyalty and friendship.
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| Allied Artists, Columbia Pictures |
Ultimately, while it captures the meaning of the book, McQueen and Hoffman give excellent performances and it's gorgeous to look at —the cinematography is both breathtakingly beautiful and brutal at the same time—, Papillon is quite a mess. It feels slow and rushed at the same time, it isn't very entertaining as most of the funny moments don't work, and it's extremely boring.
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