The Finger Man

Jean-Pierre Melville presents an exemplary homage to American Film Noir. The story takes place against Parisian landscapes reminiscent of Manhattan and focuses on an ex-con who returns to his evil ways. He tries to join his old gang, which now includes a police snitch. From within their violent world, the gangsters are sucked into a whirlwind of suspicion, leading them to take extreme action. The Finger Man, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, is a simultaneously captivating and poetic crime movie, dealing with loyalty and betrayal between men (and between men and women). “This is a movie about two-faced characters,” Melville admitted, adding “do not believe anyone until the film’s final moment.”