![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfx1Rjrzgue5FRzad6ICMAxriJF87O0NTgjmpR87_WNQvsceFmQAqVq-w-r6j4-xF6vDU-KQrHcsBlG5-6_VUmU43SSpeJa3bewMpfpOh57sZq6I8GCxQr7jixTf2zGIF0qilWE9OISYU/s1600/Elevator+to+the+gallows+2.jpg)
Gallows opens with a man and a woman professing their love to one another, both talking into a phone. They have plans to run away together. This is all we know. The man, Julien Tavernier, goes about his day at the office. As we follow his activities we notice he is preparing a grappling hook, a gun, and a rope. For what? He proceeds to climb up the outside of his window to the window above, using the grappling hook and rope. Julien then murders his boss, who we quickly realize is the husband of the woman he is in love with, Florence Carala.
Florence waits patiently at a cafe while Jules gets in the elevator to leave the scene of the crime. As the elevator goes down, the building's security guard shuts the power off for the evening and our protagonist is stuck between floors and near the top of the tall building. This is the set up, which boldly prepares us for a clever series of events that does not fall short in delivering.
Julien is played smoothly by Maurice Ronet. He is undaunted by the pitfalls he encounters while trying to get to his love. Nor does he once go to pieces over the crime he has just committed. He is a man with a mission. Jeanne Moreau plays Florence with the desperation and insanity of a woman helpless, waiting and wandering the streets of Paris under the relentless spell of manic love.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmundBer8dc11np4L-RrgVHi-cNCoeiF_xfGyriF8IQ9EFhDVjyvZmPUDxtixAMeV-vXd33sUPzO24zerL8XssPCSUoeX3a3QDjC0uHQM1ygX9M3uw83fjLBiKuZeiVqpvi2Uh7t8XdOY/s1600/Elevator+to+the+gallows+5.jpg)
There is a spontaneity to the pacing of Gallows that, like many French New Wave films, seems unplanned and improvised - a "free form" structure that keeps the viewer spellbound. Also understatement is key here. We are meant to observe everything but be distracted by nothing. A contrast to today's films where we are spoon fed plot developments while simultaneously being beat over the head with overt messages that would be so much more enjoyable if weaved into the subtext. Less is so much more with Elevator to the Gallows.