[REVIEW] A Woman Kills
Spoiler Alert: The killer in the film is revealed in this review in order to discuss certain elements of the film more in-depth.
French director Jean Denis-Bonan’s long lost new wave thriller A Woman Kills (1968) has finally been resurrected by Radiance Films for Blu-ray release. The film was unable to find distribution at the time, but has been restored and is now available, complete with newly-produced bonus features.
Originally filmed during the 1968 political revolution in France, A Woman Kills is a serial killer drama filmed in the style of a new wave feature. The experimental style is a standout and it’s no wonder that it was time for a distributor to release the film to the world. Director Denis-Bonan uses a wide variety of shots that make use of the point of view of every character available to him. The construction of A Woman Kills creates high suspense that is only heightened by its unsettling score. The score makes use of experimental jazz and relies on the inclusion of slide whistles and percussion. The sound is random and jarring, matching the tone of the story.
A Woman Kills is a killer mystery that alternates between shots of the crime investigation with shots introducing each victim, all of whom are sex workers. The sex workers are nude and dance provocatively, giving the film its reputation as an erotic work. Though the victims of the killer are presented in this way, I would argue that the film is not an erotic thriller and rather uses eroticism as a framing device. The victims are sex workers and this is how we view them, much like the killer would.
The killer is said to be another sex worker named Hélène Picard, who is sentenced to death and executed prior to the events of the film. When the film begins, more bodies are being discovered, meaning that she was not the killer after all.
Detective Solange (Solange Pradel) begins a romantic affair with executioner Louis (Claude Merlin). As Solange narrates her clues and suspicions, the camera follows a figure with short brown hair. As more evidence is uncovered, Solange comes to the conclusion that the killer is none other than her partner Louiss who has been disguising himself as a woman.
A content warning for discussions about transphobia for the remainder of the review.
It is clear as to why this film was resurrected and distributed to the public. Denis-Bonan includes shots following characters from behind up stairs; he shoots from the perspective of a person running through the grass; there are close-ups from right behind objects so that the audience is invading the privacy of the characters; and finally there is a sex scene shot from under the springs of a bed, creating one of the most unique and interesting shots I have ever seen. It is astounding filmmaking that was released at a prominent time of violent upheaval. A Woman Kills has shown its place in film history.
That being said, its relationship to gender is also clearly contestable. The film is yet another example of the male killer in a dress trope. It was released 8 years after Psycho (1960), so the idea is definitely present. There is a long sequence that shows Louis applying makeup and putting on clothing traditionally worn by cis-women (a bra, a dress). In the end after the reveal happens, Louis makes a comment about feeling like a woman. There is an inherent transgender reading of the character, giving the evidence depicted throughout the film, leaving us with yet another transgender villain. Not only that, but the man in a dress trope is once again played for shock value. We can make the excuse that the film was made in a time with different politics, but trans people have always existed and with a modern release, there is still harm caused by this depiction of a trans identity. This depiction of a trans character is framed as a danger to other people, Louis is shown to be confused, and using their identity as a shock factor depicts being trans as something that is used to mislead others, not a valid identity in itself.
A Woman Kills is worth watching for the filmmaking, but its gender politics are troubling and take away from the film. It’s a difficult piece to review when considered from all angles. As a cisgendered woman, it is not up to me to decide what representations are and are not appropriate, but these two tropes in particular have been written about too often to ignore.
A Woman Kills does ask us to question what films are chosen to restore and re-release. It is a feat of filmmaking, but what are the consequences of re-introducing harmful tropes? Perhaps we can view this film as a historical relic, but then we have to consider that approach for all problematic media made in the past. There is no straightforward answer.