American Gigolo

Fascinating but botched attempt to update and translate Bresson's Pickpocket to contemporary California. Gere is the highly paid gigolo who finds himself suspected of murdering one of the women he has serviced; Hutton the rich, married woman who falls for him. Part thriller, part portrait of American malaise, it finally comes to focus on Gere's inability to get in touch with his own feelings, and therein lies the Bressonian theme of redemption. Unfortunately, the film is so determinedly stylish (Gere's costumes, Giorgio Moroder's soundtrack, John Bailey's noir-inflected camerawork), and the performances generally so vacuous (only Elizondo's detective really breathes), that it all becomes something of an academic, if entertaining, exercise that fails to stir the emotions.