The Devil in the Flesh: Adapting Radiguet

Raymond Radiguet was like France’s John Kennedy Toole. Due to their premature demises, both authors only wrote two novels, but their enduring literary reputations are largely based on the first that were published. In Radiguet’s case, that was The Devil in the Flesh, which is also sort of like Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley. Periodically, filmmakers pretend to adapt either novel because of their literary merit, but they inevitably emphasize the naughty bits. That happens again this time, even though director-screenwriter-cinematographer Oscar Wenman-Hyde also displays a pronounced Terence Malik-esque influence throughout The Devil in the Flesh, which releases today on VOD.

Wenman-Hyde takes some liberties with Radiguet’s source novel, starting with its transfer from France to rural England. However, he keeps the essence of its scandalous romance. Rachel has accepted an ambiguous position helping Flynn manage his family’s farm, while his father and her husband serve in uniform during WWI. Of course, the close proximity of a single young man and a married but husband-less woman inspires judgmental chatter, which they soon live up to.

In this case, Flynn appears to be a naïve man in his very early twenties, while Rachel is maybe twenty years his senior, so their age difference is not as ambiguously eyebrow-raising as some versions have implied. It is also clear Rachel’s marriage was already rocky, even before her husband’s deployment. Nevertheless, her letters confessing her infidelity sound cruel and spiteful, given his circumstances.

Not surprisingly, the traditional community’s open scorn puts stress on their not-so secret love affair. There is also a war underway, which will eventually directly impact their lives. Indeed, it is easy to understand why Radiguet’s novel faced a backlash from French veterans when it first released. However, some of the novel’s psychological complexity might have been lost in translation. It might also have been drowned out by the soundtrack of treacly anachronistic pop songs composed by Wenman-Hyde as well.

Perhaps his best work comes as cinematographer, because the many striking scenes of the two lovers standing in windswept fields, staring off at the horizon, truly look worthy of either Malik or Terence Davies. While Elizabeth Grace and Henry Fisk generate plenty of heat as Rachel and Flynn, they remain ill-defined beyond their mutual passion.

Wenman-Hyde also employs several stylistic strategies that distract from the drama and break his intended dreamlike spell, such as the gossiping villagers, who speak directly into the camera, in a way that almost breaks the fourth wall. Wenman-Hyde wore many hats during the production, but what he really needed was a voice advocating greater restraint. His vision of Radiguet’s lusty morality tale is undeniably earnest, but too messy and stylistically exaggerated for its own good. Not recommended, The Devil in the Flesh releases today (7/28) on VOD.