TURKISH writer-director Nuri Bilge Ceylan steadily built his reputation in recent years with the moody, introspective dramas Distant, which won the Grand Prix du Jury at Cannes, and Climates, an intense marital drama in which Ceylan co-starred with his wife and screenwriting partner, Ebru Ceylan. He now makes a remarkable advance on both films with the riveting psychological thriller that is Three Monkeys, for which he was voted best director at Cannes last year.
Three Monkeysbegins on an arresting nocturnal sequence as a man falls asleep at the wheel and causes a hit-and-run accident. The number of his car is reported to the police.
The culprit is Servet (Ercan Kesel), a sweaty, shifty politician anxiously facing into a general election. He bribes his driver Eyup (Yavuz Bingol) to take the rap for him, paying his salary while he is jailed and promising a lump sum on release. While Eyup serves nine months in prison, his son Ismail (Ahmet Rifar Sungar) has yet again failed his university entrance exam and his mother Hacer (Hatice Aslan) disapproves of the company he keeps.
The title refers to seeing, hearing and speaking no evil, all of which become increasingly difficult for the four key characters as their intersected relationships grows more complicated. The moral dilemma that triggers the narrative builds to another, even more complex predicament.
In its revelations of secrets and lies, Three Monkeysbecomes all the more intriguing, not least because of Ceylan's teasing practice of selectively withholding and releasing information and keeping key events off-screen. There are ample clues along the way, as matters that seem merely incidental take on greater significance while the plot thickens.
An accomplished photographer in his own right, Ceylan demonstrates his virtuoso visual style in the striking, painterly compositions, digitally captured by his lighting cameraman Gokhan Tiryaki. The heightened use of sound effects (fast-moving trains, ominous storms) amplifies the tense atmosphere in this finely acted contemporary film noir that builds to a jolting conclusion.
