Review CXLI - The Girl on a Motorcycle

Review 141
The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968)

I really have been on a roll with reviews this month! It does help that I have been watching quite a few films during the week as background noise to some art pieces I've been working on. This time we have an Alain Delon film going for us because, well, I never would have checked it out if it wasn't for Alain Delon. It is Jack Cardiff's The Girl on a Motorcycle starring yours truly, Marianne Faithfull, and Roger Mutton. Let's jump right in.

Rebecca (Marianne Faithfull) has recently married Raymond (Roger Mutton), but finds herself riding her motorcycle to meet her lover, Daniel (Alain Delon).

I... literally have nothing else to say in terms of plot. It really is as simple as a love triangle where we're shown how impotent Raymond is and how erect Daniel is. Meanwhile, everyone is drooling over Rebecca given her thin frame fitting like a glove into the leather suit. She criticises the attention she receives, but criticises the men who ignore her. "He must be a homosexual," she claims of one of them. So honestly, in terms of plot, it really just follows a woman who is egocentric, knowing she is stunning and falling into place with Raymond as a "protection" against Daniel. Why? Because Daniel doesn't love her as he lost his true love once.

Really, this film has nothing going on. I know there's some type of critique on the Vietnam War in one scene when Rebecca sees armour recruitments riding around on tanks with "flowers on their heads" as she claims. What was it saying? Probably that the war was bad given Rebecca's statements. Otherwise, we mostly get a view of Daniel criticising love and asking his students whether or not marriage is even worth it when you can have your cake and eat it too, that is, have sex but never commit. But it was very downplayed in my opinion since Daniel was in love with a woman once. I mean, Rebecca most love him given that she keeps going back to sleep with him, so maybe this is showing us that women think they can get a man by sleeping with them? Also that she is a complete jerk for marrying Raymond? I mean, it's implied he knows, but I don't get why he wouldn't say anything.

I'm grasping on straws here, so really, the only thing going for this film is the erotic tension from Marianne Faithfull, but even that is barely used. I mean, the opening scene of her putting on the catsuit was nice, but if I was a guy, I would be pissed. You literally get barely anything else. And since I'm a woman, did I get Alain Delon? Well, yeah, but I'd rather watch Le samouraï where the focus is on him and I have an interesting story. Here, it's just boring and uninspired. I feel like Jack Cardiff wanted to make a film with just some visual appeal and tried to get everyone in by having Marianne Faithfull and Alain Delon (Roger Mutton was good-looking too, but whatever) starring in it, and then delivered absolutely nothing.

In the end, The Girl on a Motorcycle is summed up in the title. If you're looking for a sexy film, go elsewhere because this one really doesn't give you anything you wanted.