Pickpocket

7/10. Watched this Friday evening on DVD.

I saw Pickpocket for the first time several years ago, and although I enjoyed it enough, it landed far short of my list of all-time favorites.

However it may have just been me. So when I received the movie on DVD recently as a gift, I wiped the slate clean and sat down to rewatch it with an open mind. But while there’s a lot to like about the movie (its technical elements are particularly accomplished) I remain underwhelmed.

I don’t demand “naturalistic” acting in movies -- whatever fits the style, I say -- but Pickpocket’s nonprofessional cast is largely unconvincing even on the movie’s own terms. Particularly weak is Pierre Leymarie as Jacques; it's no wonder that this was his first and last movie.

A bigger problem for me is the voice-over narration; most of it is unnecessary, and so it quickly becomes a distraction. An example is when the protagonist, Michel, hesitates in front of the door to his mother’s apartment -- and he informs us in voice-over: “I hesitated.”

Zero complaints about the DVD, though, which is gorgeous. If you’re one of those who hold Pickpocket in high esteem, Criterion’s new disc of the movie must be a must-have.