‘They scratch their aching bodies that shiver and shake, crushing the flowers and biting the grass.’
A man and a woman are murdered in separate incidents on the same night, but a macabre calling card connects the killings. The policeman investigating discovers that both were also members of a private club of wildlife conservationists…
Pleasingly unusual Giallo from director Paolo Cavara, who co-wrote the script with Enrico Oldoini and Bernardino Zapponi. Michele Placido and Corinne Cléry star, with notable support from American actors Eli Wallach, Tom Skerritt and John Steiner.
The caseload keeps piling up for homicide Inspector Gaspare Lomenzo (Placido). On the same night, respectable businessman Mattia Grandi (Guidarino Guidi) is strangled by prostitute Elvira Meniconi (Eleonora Vivaldi) and Laura Falconieri (Greta Vayan) is bludgeoned to death with a wrench on board an empty bus. In both cases, a page torn from the children’s book ‘Shock-headed Peter’ is found next to the body. It’s not long before Placido finds another connection between the two victims; both were members of the Fauna Lovers, a club dedicated to preserving endangered species founded by the late Professor Hoffmann (Steiner). The club were under investigation four years earlier after the death of Rosa Catena (Sarah Crespi), who was a guest at one of their parties at Hoffman’s villa. However, the relevant documentation is missing from the files and the lead officer on the case subsequently retired and can’t be found.
Under pressure from his disorganised boss (Skerritt), Placido resorts to consulting Peter Struwwel (Wallach), who runs a large private investigation company that has been of great help to the police in the past. However, things are looking up for him on the home front. After his partner Ruth (Mary Ruth League) runs off with her lover to London, he hooks up with the sexy Jeanne (Cléry), who lives in the same apartment block. Better still, it turns out that she attended the Steiner’s exclusive club the night Cespi died. She explains that, in reality, it was a private sex club, and Crespi had been hired for the evening’s entertainment. In the drunken early hours of the morning, however, prominent club member Angelo Scanavini (Quinto Parmeggiani) had dragged the young girl outside and threatened to throw her into a cage with Steiner’s tiger. It was only a prank, but Crespi had a heart attack and died. When Placido discovers that her pimp, Agostino Farundi (Claudio Zucchet), is just out of jail, he has the perfect motive and a prime suspect.
At first glance, this is a pretty standard Giallo setup. There’s a series of murders, a revenge motive prompted by a traumatic past event and an intrepid detective trying to piece it all together and unmask the killer before the final credits roll. For the first hour or so, it seems to be just that, although one that’s more carefully assembled than most and exhibits a higher level of narrative skill. This is best demonstrated by an early scene in the chaotic squad room where Placido tries to discuss the case with the distracted Skerritt. Opinions on the killer fly in from all directions, with some interesting psychological input from one commentator. When Placido asks who he is, the man lifts up his arms to display his handcuffed wrists. Another early highlight is a wonderful interchange between Placido and Wallach. The wall of TV monitors in the latter’s office and the presence of taciturn chief investigator Pandolfi (Jacques Herlin) help convey the vast scale of Wallach’s operation, giving weight to his cynical worldview.
It’s around the hour mark that the story starts heading off in unexpected directions. The manhunt for Zucchet is over pretty quickly and it becomes obvious that there’s a lot more going on with the story than first appeared. This is where the balance that director Cavara has struck between the unfolding plot and the careful character building really pays off. Up to this point, Placido’s detective has been workmanlike but little more, even seeming borderline incompetent at times. However, it’s a credit to the actor’s careful performance and the character’s obvious decency that the audience stays on his side.
However, when the truth emerges in a series of surprising plot twists, Placido’s real nature is also revealed. He’s one smart cookie who’s been a couple of steps ahead of almost everyone all the time. It’s as pleasing a revelation as the unexpected turns in the story. Cavara is also careful to showcase his fallibility too, leaving him outmanoeuvred and at gunpoint despite his cleverness. Another fine aspect of the script is that the twists may be quite extreme, but they’re still credible because everything ties together in a logical manner. A rewatch even reveals that what appear to be a couple of weak points on initial viewing can be viewed in a far more favourable light, particularly the apparent omnipotence of the killer, which was possibly the most tiresome Giallo trope of all.
The cast makes a strong showing across the board, particularly Cléry, who stands out for her work with Placido. Their blossoming relationship convinces them, despite their brief screen time together, so her partial redemption in the final act seems earned rather than just a convenient plot device. However, Skerritt is wasted in a minor role; swapping command of a squad room for command of a space freighter in Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ (1979) a few years later proved a wise career move. On the other hand, Wallach gets plenty to chew on in his scenes and is predictably excellent; a would-be puppet master, urbane and friendly on the surface but chilling at the same time. Cavara never overplays the dangers of Wallach’s surveillance culture and the misuse of information, but the implications are clear for all to see.
Placido was in the early stages of a lengthy acting career here, beginning on Italian television in 1971. Success came quickly, and he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor ‘Silver Ribbon’ by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists for ‘Come Home and Meet My Wife/Romanzo Popolare’ (1975). He won the ‘Silver Bear’ at the Berlin International Film Festival for his performance in the romantic drama ‘Ernesto’ (1979) and switched to directing with ‘Pummarò’ (1990). He shared the ‘Premio Sergio Amidei’ award with Angelo Pasquini for co-writing his next film ‘Close Friends/Le amiche del cuore’ (1992), but probably reached the height of his career with the crime drama ‘Romanzo Criminale’ (2006). The film won a staggering 32 awards and was nominated for 25 more. His latest film, the biographical drama ‘Caravaggio’s Shadow’ (2022), also won multiple awards in his native Italy.
A high-quality, underappreciated Giallo.