Surprisingly light work coming from a director like Joseph Losey. I guess he just wanted to make fun of the numerous agent movies of the sixties and maybe insert a little comment on the values of storytelling in them. If he does, he luckily makes it in a most entertaining way and with technical ability, that certain slackening is easy to forget. Everything is made up into ultra-light eye candy and silly fun to be enjoyed in the right frame of mind. There is not even much of a plot to be mentioned about. Stolen diamonds, secret agents, dangerous missions and nice locations all in a fine mess, like the films this kind usually have. For fans of the original Modesty Blaise comic strip this naturally is a pity, because almost nothing of its real characteristics appear here. The characters are drawn very far from how they appear as originals and everything else is just about all changed too. The Modesty Blaise most of us readers know would deserve a more appropriate movie treatment. And I'm still waiting for it.
So, to enjoy this version more one should maybe forget the original Modesty Blaise completely. This is a child's play, a very cruel child's, and a play for adult children. A movie like a box of crayons, really. Scenes seem to change for the sake of sets, clothes and props. And for hair color, as it is with Modesty and Willie Garvin, his male sidekick. Monika Vitti and Terence Stamp look right for their roles, but doesn't seem to have much to act and both handle the job perfectly. Dirk Bogarde, familiar from a few other Losey's films a bit deeper than this, almost steals the show as Gabriel, the bored, neurotic, gay arch criminal. A movie best recommended for a rainless brainless day.
So, to enjoy this version more one should maybe forget the original Modesty Blaise completely. This is a child's play, a very cruel child's, and a play for adult children. A movie like a box of crayons, really. Scenes seem to change for the sake of sets, clothes and props. And for hair color, as it is with Modesty and Willie Garvin, his male sidekick. Monika Vitti and Terence Stamp look right for their roles, but doesn't seem to have much to act and both handle the job perfectly. Dirk Bogarde, familiar from a few other Losey's films a bit deeper than this, almost steals the show as Gabriel, the bored, neurotic, gay arch criminal. A movie best recommended for a rainless brainless day.