Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Art film producer Jeremy Prokosch, unhappy with the work of his director, hires Fritz Lang (as himself) to direct an adaptation of The Odyssey, but when it seems that the legendary filmmaker is making a picture destined to bomb, he brings in a screenwriter to energise the script. The professional intersects with the personal when a rift develops between the writer and his wife.
Godard's Contempt is a visually sumptuous, intellectually rich meditation on marriage, artistic compromise, and the collision between commerce and art. Raoul Coutard's widescreen cinematography on Capri is among the most beautiful ever committed to film, justifying a top mark. The cast — Bardot, Piccoli, Palance, and Lang playing himself — delivers layered, often understated performances that reward close attention. Novelty is high: the film is a singular fusion of mythological allegory, self-reflexive cinema commentary, and domestic tragedy, unmistakably Godardian yet unlike anything else in the canon. The plot, while deliberately slow and elliptical, is a compelling dissection of a crumbling marriage, though it can feel schematic in service of its ideas. The ending, though striking in its abruptness, feels somewhat forced as a narrative resolution, preventing a top mark there.