I read ‘The Stranger’ many, many years ago- although the version I read was called ‘The Outsider’. I couldn’t really remember all that much about the book except Meursault’s rather listless detachment with everything. The film places rather more emphasis on his relationship with Marie than I remembered, and the woman abused by his neighbour Raymond is given a name here- Djemila. The film finishes with her, rather than him.
I know that the director decided to shoot it in black and white to convey heat, but I don’t know that it worked that well for me. The water even looked choppy and cool at one stage (although it probably wasn’t). I would have liked to have seen it in a stark, dazzling white heat in colour, instead. It is subtitled, but there is relatively little dialogue and the subtitles were easy to keep up with.
My rating: 7/10
The Resident Judge of Port Phillip 