The Stranger

This fearsome adaptation of Albert Camus’ The Outsider is a strong addition to Francois Ozon’s stable of ‘trouble in paradise’ films. Stripped down to mimic the novella’s sparse and muscular prose, the film delivers a tough, absurdist examination of inner-violence, how it appears, and the insanity at the core of every human life.

Amorality is expertly portrayed in both Benjamin Voisin’s central performance as the dislodged loner Meursault, and Manu Dacosse’s black and white cinematography. Voisin maintains a distant, Don Draper-esque indifference to every interaction, relationship and happenstance. Yet something in the small features of his face, the tiniest darting of his eyes, tells us there’s a potential torrent of emotion being repressed underneath him.

Dacosse’s camera meanwhile, in capturing the twisting geography of old Algiers (Tangier handsomely standing in), creates a plethora of greys that feed beautifully into the study of moral ambiguity. Every decision is made in shadow, up until Meursault makes a life-shattering decision, where blinding sunlight becomes the eye of God beating down upon our protagonist. A usually pleasant sunswept beach becomes a hellish furnace, and the reflection of light from a watch an act of war, with some brilliantly simple direction.

Ozon’s adaptation deepens the identity and oppression faced by native Algerians than Camus’ original allows. The slight restructuring of the film’s narrative, so that Mersault’s very first line is him admitting to a crime against an Arab, highlights the often unnoticed colonial elements. Along with a more fleshed-out backstory to the Arabic characters (including the personification of one only passingly mentioned in the book), a clear retrospective effort has been made to reason with infamous elements of France’s history in Northern Africa. It is crystalised in a moving final scene, allowing Meursault to remain detached whilst reminding the audience that real lives have been affected within this philosophical exploration.

Fans of the original novella will appreciate the faithfulness of the adaptation, whilst those encountering the story for the first time through this adaptation still have plenty to sink their teeth into. The philosophical undertones remain and can be excavated by those looking for them. If you just want some psychological drama featuring people who are as gorgeous as their surroundings, there’s plenty of that too.