Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

dbdumonteil ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** One of Claude Chabrol's poorest offerings,this movie is near plagiarism:it sometimes recalls Edouard Molinaro's "La mort de Belle" from George Simenon.The teacher unfairly suspected of a crime who commits another crime :it's all there in Molinaro's 1963 movie featuring the great Jean Desailly.So why bother?Chabrol even copies himself:the ending looks like that of "juste avant la nuit" (1971)."Juste avant la nuit" ,though inferior to "la femme infidèle" "que la bête meure","le boucher" or "la rupture" boasted a wonderful cast:Bouquet and Audran.Here,what have we?Sandrine Bonnaire,totally incredible as a doctor,Bulle Ogier,a grotesque matron,and Antoine de Caunes ,an "actor" generally cast in some ponderous French comedies.Fortunately,he dies half an hour before the end,what a relief! The actress playing the cop should enter the Guiness book of Records as the worst performer of a police officer in history:how lucky they are,the ones who see the movie dubbed in English.Her voice and her swagger are comic at best,unbearable in the long run.I really wonder how she passed the audition.Along with this one ,some of Chabrol's films to avoid at any cost:"folies bourgeoises" ,"les magiciens","les innocents aux mains sales";and the ones that should be restored to favor:"l'enfer" and "masques".

Geofbob In this and some other of Claude Chabrol's movies, it is as though he sets out to defy himself and his audience to feel any emotion. The pace is even; characters rarely raise their voices or lose their tempers; there is no on-screen violence; and the sex is minimal and decorous. The colour is carefully orchestrated, with cool blue predominating; and though the film is set by the sea, this is not the warm, seductive Mediterranean, but the cold, off-putting Atlantic; when the weather deteriorates, there are no violent storms, simply thick fog.Though superficially a drama about the rape and murder of a young girl, the real subject of the film is deceit and lying. From the trompe l'oeil paintings of the main suspect René Sterne (Jacques Gamblin), through marriage infidelity, to the smug hypocrisy of TV celebrity G-R Desmot (Antoine de Caunes), all is a sham. Nor does Chabrol shy away from reminding us that the film medium itself is based on illusion - a character reassures another "that's the sort of thing you only see in movies". But for all the movie's careful construction, and despite my trying hard to suspend disbelief, some elements of the film remained deeply unconvincing and even ludicrous. In particular, I found it impossible to accept Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as a police chief with an ultra-mild demeanour and a penchant for pink knitwear. Also, the film ended so abruptly that I for one missed any final point made by Chabrol. Nevertheless, there may be viewers more discerning than I who will find more value in this movie.

MarioB Claude Chabrol had directed about 50 movies since 1957. Sometimes, he's very good, but when he's bad, he's really boring. This movie is boring, despite the good efforts of asking the spectators who had killing the little girl and the writer. It's too long, too low key. But the biggest problem of the movie is Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. I never saw such a weak actress. She don't have any credibility in the role of the police inspector. She's inexpressive and had an horrible voice. She can't articulate and most of the time, we don't understand or hear what's she's saying! Sandrine Bonnaire seems to be anywhere except in her role, but Jacques Gamblin is good. Too bad for Chabrol's fans!

Ana-4 The hypothesis of Chabrol: that life in society is only possible if it is based on lies, in the film, is a total lie! Also, it's interesting that the narrator at the actual time of these problems: pedophilia, unemployment, female cops (on television), was neurotic. It seems contrived in many situations: the infidelity of Vivianne (the nude painting of her), the assassin (the photo that was found in the assassin's bag).