L’exécutrice (1986) sees sexploitation superstar Brigitte Lahaie redefining audiences’ expectations by turning in a powerful and nuanced dramatic performance. To the uninitiated, Lahaie is best known for her appearance in Jean Rollin’s classic Fascination (1979) in which, wearing only a cape, Lahaie wields a giant scythe. Producer Jean-François Davy (Lahaie’s lover at the time) offered her the chance to prove herself as a bonafide actress in L’exécutrice and it paid off.
In L’exécutrice Lahaie plays police officer Martine whose by the book method of policing conflicts with the brutal and racist Valmont’s (Pierre Oudrey). Together they hope to bring Mrs. Wenders (Dominique Erlanger) in on charges of kidnapping, human trafficking, and illegal pornography. It’s only after Martine’s sister is kidnapped and both she and Valmont are killed that Martine begins to suspect that her captain (Michel Modo) is collaborating with Wenders.
Michel Caputo’s direction is taut, suspenseful and brutal. The labyrinthian narrative unfolds at a fast pace, punctuated with scenes of graphic violence. As these sequences reach their crescendo, Caputo inserts a steamy sex scene or a few shots of Martine naked in her hot tub with plenty of close-ups on Lahaie’s bare breasts. But these titillating moments are brief and few. Caputo’s primary emphasis is on Martine’s metamorphosis from good cop to angel of vengeance.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of L’exécutrice is the production design of the interior locations. The police station is drenched in blue light while night clubs pulse with reds and violets. The police captain’s home is full of yellows and browns that compliment his wardrobe. Each interior space is treated as its own insular world that Martine must navigate to crack her case and avenge her sister.
The aforementioned metamorphosis occurs gradually from Martine’s first encounter with Valmont until it reaches its zenith when she learns of her betrayal. Valmont is a kind of tutor in bigotry, torture and violent excess; the kind of cop nobody mourns. But their relationship goes both ways. Just as Martine learns to be cold blooded from Valmont, Valmont himself begins to appreciate compassion and the concept of mutual respect.
Unlike most female led crime films L’exécutrice doesn’t pit the heroine against a misogynist male antagonist. Mrs. Wenders is the woman that, by the end of the film, Martine has all but become. Both women have had to suffer conforming to the designs of their patriarchal society in order to realize their ambitions; one within the sphere of organized crime and the other within the criminal justice system. It’s a bold choice on Caputo’s part that elevates L’exécutrice from being an exceptional piece of genre cinema to being an entirely remarkable one.
