Similar to "The Postman Always Rings Twice" but better.
9/10
Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
4 November 2013

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

When "The Adultress" (a.k.a. "Thérèse Raquin") begins, you soon see a big problem. Young Thérèse (Simone Signoret) and her wimpy husband Camille live with his mother--and this mother babies him and dominates the household. This awful woman insists that it's a woman's duty to serve her husband and romance has no place in marriage!

The marriage is clearly a ponderous existence. It's obvious any sane wife would soon get sick of this sort of nothing life--and, not surprisingly, Thérèse does, though she does not yet realize it. It all begins to change when a virile working-class man, Laurent (Raf Vallone) brings the husband home one night when the husband is drunk. Laurent and Thérèse meet and things slowly begin to smolder. And, like in "The Postman Always Rings Twice", the lovers decide they cannot continue like this--and eventually they do away with Thérèse's emasculated husband. Of course, that's not the end of the story.

While you might think the film borrowed from James Cain's novel, the story is actually much older (and Cain might have been inspired to write "The Postman Always Rings Twice") and is from an Emil Zola novel. The parallels are certainly obvious. However, in "The Adultress" you actually feel sorry for the wife and given the awfulness of the husband and his mother, you CAN sympathize and almost excuse the killing--especially since it was not premeditated.

In the other, however, the wife is essentially an awful conniver and the husband, though old, is a decent and loving man. I actually think the way "The Adultress" constructs the story this is better, as it's much easier to connect with the characters and care about their fates. You don't so much excuse their actions but understand and empathize a bit for them.

Plus, Thérèse is the opposite of Cora (from "The Postman")--she DOES have a conscience and she is not exactly evil. Overall, "The Adultress" is an excellent film with exceptional performances. I also loved the moral ambiguities about the film--ambiguities that make the viewer think. I also appreciated the very unusual and very surprising ending--it's worth it!

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Triangle ends in death and blackmail
8/10
Author: filmtherapy from United States
11 November 2012

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A woman (Therese) brought up by an aunt and more or less forced to marry her whiny sickly pasty fleshed cousin (Camille) has resigned herself to a dull gray loveless life working in a small fabric shop owned by her mother in law. Through accident she meets Laurent who makes a play for her and becomes her lover.

This love affair intensifies and Laurent pressures Therese to leave Camille...there is a confrontation between the members of this triangle on a train and Camille is accidentally killed when an enraged Laurent pushes him off the train in a scuffle.

His death is ruled accidental and all would seem to be OK until a witness shows up to blackmail the couple. The movie presents the essential theme of the original Zola novel. In the book the lovers grow to hate each other as they wait for things to cool down after Camille's death (they drown him) and there is much more twisted psychological drama between them and the mother in law.

However this is a tight nice story in this form and the movie has 3 attractive good actors and is suspenseful fun entertainment.RECOMMENDed

Don't throw this one off the train.
8/10
Author: FilmSocietyMtl from Canada
22 September 2007

I'll have to disagree with some of the more negative comments about this film. Marcel Carne has succeeded beautifully in capturing the mood and major themes of Zola's novel in THERESE RAQUIN. It's nice to see a film from the period dealing with common working class people caught up in the turmoil of love and everyday life.

The main romantic leads initially seem a little mismatched but by film's end the ice has more than melted between them. How many times have we seen the female lead fall too quickly for her suitor. Here it takes its sweet time and plays the better for it. Signoret's titular character seems almost a bit too stoic but considering her numbingly bland and lenghty marital situation, it may well be authentic.

As many women are in reality, Therese is fiercely loyal to her husband, whether he deserves it or not. The ruggedly handsome Raf Vallone is ideally cast as the trucker who steals her attention and makes a good contrast to her dishrag of a husband.

A blackmailing sailor who appears in the middle of the film before making a menacing reappearance near the end is very effectively played by Rolland leSaffre. He is as creepy as Robert Mitchum in CAPE FEAR. Do seek this one out and enjoy the ride!

Roland Lesaffre : Henri dit « Riton » le matelot maître chanteur

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The stranger in the train
8/10
Author: jotix100 from New York
18 May 2007

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Emile Zola's novel about adultery, blackmail and murder, was adapted for the screen by Marcel Carne and Charles Spaak, two men who knew about all the elements that show so prominently in the book. In fact, Mr. Carne seems the obvious choice to tackle this work that packs quite a lot. Emile Zola was one of France's best writers of his time. His work always reflected human beings at a crossroad, as is the case in "Therese Raquin", one of his best novels.

Therese, the young woman at the center of the story, is married to her sickly cousin Camille. One look at Therese tells it all, she's caught in a no win situation as long as she remains married. Therese is ready to satisfy the sexual desires bottled in her. Enter the dashing young driver Laurent. He likes Therese and she feels, for once in her lifetime, the spark that brings her to life. It's clear she falls for this stranger with a passion she didn't know she had within her.

Zola seems to be a role model for writers like James Cain, who also saw what passion could do to sexually repressed individuals. The theme of "Therese Raquin" evokes some modern novels like Mr. Cain's "The Postman Always Ring Twice", and "Double Indemnity", to cite only two of his works also turned into successful films.

Camille, who senses his wife's betrayal, decides to take her away to some relatives where she would be safe, away from the temptation of the handsome man that could mean her salvation. Therese and Laurent have another thing in mind, as it becomes clear when the young lover happens to be in the same train as the Raquin. Little prepares them for the stranger that is also riding the train and who will come back to haunt them.

Simone Signoret makes an appealing Therese. Ms. Signoret was an interesting actress to watch on any of the films she appeared. Therese was one of her best creations as she gives the director a nuanced performance in what remains to be one of her best roles she played on the screen. Handsome Raf Vallone appears as the man who seduces the beautiful woman in an unhappy marriage. Sylvie is perfect as the mother who knew in her heart about her niece's betrayal. Marcel Andre as the blackmailer Michaud also creates the necessary tension for the lovers.

"Therese Raquin" is not seen often theses days, but it's worth a look for people who love the genre to watch one of Marcel Carne's best works in the French cinema.

Vivid and brooding, a Euro-noir, with a cold, stunning Signoret...slow but alive
8/10
Author: secondtake from United States
30 August 2010

You may be familiar with the lead actress, Simone Signoret, from Les Diaboliques, made a year after this film, and she plays a similar conflicted or complex,strong type of woman in a sordid world. She plays the title character, based on a Zola story, who is swept into a romance she doesn't completely expect and then a murder that she doesn't completely abhor.

And she is rather brilliant, a slightly different type than American actresses of the time, but commanding in her stoic intelligence. The two men are both first rate, one a foreign (Italian) charmer and the other a sharper fellow who is only slightly over his head. In fact, everyone is just slightly extended into decisions they don't quite know how to make. The fact that things go wrong is just part of great drama, and part of life, too.

The filming (photography and editing) is totally gorgeous here, The plot progresses slowly enough it might seem to drag, but I think it works in the long run, setting a deliberate and inevitable pace to events. What is maybe weakest is the ending, where things get a little spectacular, perhaps in a fascinating way, but certainly no longer believable.

Director Marcel Carne is no household name in this country, but the strength of this film alone makes me want to find others and get a feel for his style. Recommended for those who like drama, melodrama, and a sort of Euro-noir style, and who don't mind reading subtitles.