M
Year: 1931.
Country: Germany.
Principal Cast: Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke, Gustaf Grundgens and others.
Directed by: Fritz Lang.
Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes approx.
Fritz Lang’s classic psychological thriller.
Have I ever told you that I’m a sucker for serial killer movies? I haven’t? Well now you know.
Infact, I’ve even grown to classify them into a few types.
For me, a good serial killer movie is an engrossing tale about a person committing crimes in quick (not necessarily so) succession. It is often a story about who the killer turns out to be, and how they (the police, private investigators and you know, the works) catch him. Some movies choose to reveal the killer’s identity eventually, while others continue the suspense and mystery with an open ending which leaves us with no clear ideas whatsoever on the killer.
A great serial killer flick has all this, while subtly trying to tackle some other issue of relevance. The best example I can provide at the moment is ‘Memories of Murder’ where apart from the usual serial killer escapades we were subject to dark humour predominantly circulating around the then police practices and the methods they used to ‘catch’ a culprit. Such a movie keeps you engrossed, but makes you think even after its runtime. Not necessarily about the killer alone, but that subtle message that it wanted to air.
‘M’ is without doubt, a great serial killer movie.
The movie begins with a take of a few children playing around singing ‘Just you wait a little while, the nasty man in black will come. With his little chopper, he will chop you up!’. A wonderful way to introduce the plot, if you ask me. Children are rapidly disappearing in a German city and chaos ensues in an attempt to nab the child murderer. As expected the police are pressured in a big way and the whole force is galvanized into finding this one man who is responsible for the death of 5 children. As you might expect, the rest of the rest of the movie focuses on how the cops eventually find the culprit.
Whoa, hold it. I did tell you this was a great movie, right?
This is where ‘M’ throws an interesting plot twist at you. Indirect consequences of the urgency to arrest the child murderer include maximum security, unprecedented police raids and the like… all of which disrupt the hitherto smooth activities of the criminal underworld. In what I can only describe as a masterstroke, the crime lords conspire to work together to catch the murderer. The rest as they say is a movie well worth your time.
Much of that credit goes to the cast and the writer-director team of Thea van Harbou and Fritz Lang. Peter Lorre as Hans Beckert is perhaps the first (?) and most definitive portrayals of a serial killer. A character that must have set a precedent, for we often see serial killers in the same shade. Beckert is perfection. A guy who is as normal as they come, whose killer instincts and motives are best described by the movie as being triggered by an ‘instantaneous impulse’. There are other clearly discernable characters such as Franz, Lohmann and Schranker but I’ll stop here. Suffice to say that ‘M’ is so filled with characters that you’re bound to like. Elsie’s mother, the blind beggar, the guy who trails Beckert, the old guy who’s mistaken for the murderer… there are many more! Harbou and Lang must have spent quite some time developing the populace, and they seem too have done an excellent job of it.
The usual characterization and plot apart, there are several little things I love about this movie. Some scenes, a few portrayals and the dark typically noir-esque ambience it successfully creates. In doing so, ‘M’ carves a niche for itself.
For example, take the scene where we first meet the killer face to face. His introduction is synchronized with a graphologist’s description. (“The very particular shape of the letters indicates in this man a very strong and pathological sexuality. Some of the broken letters reveal an actor’s personality which can be indolent or even lazy.”). Telling us in the clearest of ways, how aptly the character can be described. Or the scene where the distraught mom shouts her daughter’s name. ‘Elsie!’, we hear the name three times, each time the frame shifts to a new location… locations that were perhaps frequented by the girl, poignantly signifying that something is amiss. And to confirm our worst premonitions in the most wonderful way, we see her toy, a ball, rolling out of a few bushes and her balloon stuck on electricity wires. ‘M’ takes its sweet time to develop its plot, but it marvels in sequences like this. Sequences that speak volumes without actually saying much.
Infact, one of the best things about the cinematography, in my opinion, were the sudden muted sequences that the screenplay was brilliantly interspersed with. Introduced a few times, they are perfect examples as to how cinema can show so much without actually saying anything. I also loved the way the camera, in a few instances focused on WHAT was being said, rather than WHO said it (For example, the scene where Lohmann recounts the damage to the office). That aside, the lighting was perfect in nearly every scene making you believe that this is every inch a dark thriller.
And to cap it all, the final scene in the dilapidated refinery where the ‘criminals’ decide to ‘judge’ the killer. Pure genius. I can’t begin to say what I liked more. There is the inherent irony of criminals trying to pass judgment on a criminal so that they can peacefully resume their criminal activities. There is the attempt to make it as legal as possible, with even a defense council (yes of course, he’s a criminal too) and the like. And finally there is the way the killer justifies his insatiable craze. Lorre’s must surely be one of the best portrayals I’ve seen. Irrespective of how he was throughout the movie, his acting in those 10 minutes really made me take pity on him. Yes, that good.
And finally there’s this inescapable fact that the movie works splendidly as a drama too and not just some serial killer fare. The way in which the murders have unexpected repercussions on the crime world is fascinating. Another instance of fabulous writing is the place where criminals seek the help of the beggar’s union to help them nab the killer. It might sound incredulous, but it was so well done to the point that it seemed very believable. Ultimately, ‘M’ transcends from being just another serial killer film to a classic drama cum film noir feature woven around a German city.
‘M’ is cinematic brilliance at its very best. What’re you waiting for?
