I viewed five films by Jacques Rivette before this one, so I'm accustomed to his bizarre style and, overall, I love it. However, Merry-Go-Round, the sixth Rivette film that I've viewed is very poor compared to the others. The "storyline" is a muddled mess that didn't make sense for me either on a "straight", literal level, or on a symbolic level.
Why would any sane man fly from NYC to Paris just because an ex-girlfriend sent him a telegram asking him to do so?Why didn't anyone, especially sis Leo, call the cops after Elizabeth was kidnapped? Why would Leo and the attorney's secretary enter an abandoned building alone to rescue Elizabeth, i.e., without the cops? After escaping kidnapping, why would Elizabeth enter back into negotiations with the very people who kidnapped her? After Leo and Ben fail to find Elizabeth at the graveyard, they are counting pennies between them to see if they have enough for cab fare back to the hotel, suggesting that they came from Rome and NYC, respectively, with no cash on them. Who would travel so far from home being absolutely broke? Why was it necessary for the fake Mr Danvers to be a psychic medium? The segments of Leo running in the woods, and the anonymous girl running in the sand dunes didn't fit in with the film in any way.
Overall, the screenplay here looks like an assemblage of elements that were randomly picked out of a hat.
This film is truly unworthy of an otherwise GREAT filmmaker like Jacques Rivette. If you've never seen a Rivette film before, then do not start here, because this film is a POOR representative of his work.
Why would any sane man fly from NYC to Paris just because an ex-girlfriend sent him a telegram asking him to do so?Why didn't anyone, especially sis Leo, call the cops after Elizabeth was kidnapped? Why would Leo and the attorney's secretary enter an abandoned building alone to rescue Elizabeth, i.e., without the cops? After escaping kidnapping, why would Elizabeth enter back into negotiations with the very people who kidnapped her? After Leo and Ben fail to find Elizabeth at the graveyard, they are counting pennies between them to see if they have enough for cab fare back to the hotel, suggesting that they came from Rome and NYC, respectively, with no cash on them. Who would travel so far from home being absolutely broke? Why was it necessary for the fake Mr Danvers to be a psychic medium? The segments of Leo running in the woods, and the anonymous girl running in the sand dunes didn't fit in with the film in any way.
Overall, the screenplay here looks like an assemblage of elements that were randomly picked out of a hat.
This film is truly unworthy of an otherwise GREAT filmmaker like Jacques Rivette. If you've never seen a Rivette film before, then do not start here, because this film is a POOR representative of his work.