Bad Seed

Bad Seed proceeds for most of its runtime in a pleasing and sedate pace, and perhaps the aspect that most distinguishes it is its general weightlessness. Though the narrative is set around a gang of car thieves that the main character, Henri (Pierre Mingand), is unwittingly dragged into, Wilder wisely feels no urge to infuse the film with additional urgency or weightlessness, mixing in liberal amounts of wit, ostensibly extraneous segments (the height of which is Jean's kleptomaniacal obsession with neckties), and a gleeful satirical element in showing the rich society and their haplessness in the face of the thieves. Even the potential thorns of the romance between Henri and Jeanette (Danielle Darrieux, in a wonderfully coy performance) are elided, as the general arc is preferred over any "big" moments. Nevertheless, Wilder's first film is made with a not insignificant amount of flair, using superimpositions and fast-paced editing (especially in the final chase) to match the screenplay's charms. The film does end in a shockingly melancholy fashion, but the film up to that point is so generous in its easygoing way that it almost feels like a natural transition. Bad Seed is a charm and a joy, where its lightness of tone and feeling is a feature rather than a demerit.