Image courtesy of Gaumont.
François Ozon’s “The Stranger,” adapted from the novella by Albert Camus, is a simple film, embellished tastefully by a talented cast of character actors, including two of my favorites, Swann Arlaud and Denis Lavant.
But its heart lies in the unaffected yet nuanced performance of its lead, Benjamin Voisin as Meursault, a young, successful businessman without ambition or direction, defined only by his good looks, his class and his existential absurdism, which gradually reveals itself after the death of his mother.
The gorgeous black-and-white photography from cinematographer Manuel Decosse works on several different levels for Ozon’s adaptation of Camus’ novella. The subconscious feeling that black-and-white evokes—that you ought to take what you’re watching a little more seriously—encouraged me to dig more attentively into the onscreen Meursault’s philosophy. It also captures the diverse, sun-drenched and overheated Algiers of the 1930s in an austere lack of color, reducing issues of colonialism and race to shades of exposure on skin and class to costume design and makeup, forcing the viewer to engage with its characters on a more grounded level.
As my first exposure to Camus’ story, I’m thankful that I knew as little about the original as I did going in. And, if you’re the same way with film, I’d encourage you to stop reading here and just come and see the movie when it opens at Midtown in April.
As far as I can tell, as someone who has explored Camus only through summaries and cultural osmosis, “The Stranger” seems to be an incredibly faithful big-screen adaptation of the original novella and varies in only two significant ways that I could detect.
First, some non-linear editing gives us a glimpse into Meursault’s imprisonment and unaffected emotional state before either of the two main plot points occur, which helped clue me in early to the emotional identity of Meursault, before the film even covers his mother’s funeral.
Secondly, in the story’s next central development, Meursault spontaneously shoots and kills an Arab, who remains unnamed in the original novella. Ozon chooses to name the man in an especially poignant, extratextual scene towards the end of the film, which could seem like a footnote of sorts. In his quite rigid adaptation of the original story, this comes across as a decision rooted in intentionality.
I hold the opinion that a successful adaptation of a pre-existing piece of art stays true to the soul of the original while offering a valuable perspective or spin on the original that only the adapter could offer. And, after experiencing “The Stranger,” first through Ozon and then through Camus and Sartre by proxy, I believe the film to be exactly what I look for from an adaptation—and a great film independent of its source material.
“The Stranger” opens at Midtown in April.
Midtown Cinema is located at 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.midtowncinema.com. Gabriel Brown serves as assistant manager at Midtown Cinema.
April Events
at Midtown Cinema
Down in Front!
Comedy Riffing
“Bride of the Monster” (1955)
Friday, April 10 at 9:30ish
3rd in the Burg Movie Night
“The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001)
Friday, April 17 at 9:30 p.m.
25FOR25 Series
25 films celebrating 25 years of great film at Midtown Cinema
“Amélie” (2001)
Sunday, April 19 at noon
“Magnolia” (2002)
Sunday, Apr 26 at 5 p.m.
Late Night Frights
“Possession” (1981)
Friday, April 24
