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Nightcap

Play trailer Poster for Nightcap Released Aug 2, 2000 1h 39m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
84% Tomatometer 55 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Starring Isabelle Huppert and Jacques Dutronc as the epitome of marital bliss, living a beautiful lavish life in Lausanne, Switzerland. While Mika (Isabelle Huppert) is busy running a successful chocolate company, Andre (Jacques Dutronc) rehearses marvelous compositions on the piano. Deep down, something is amiss, and Chabrol spins this bittersweet yarn into a dark mystery.

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Nightcap

Nightcap

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Critics Consensus

Boasting a masterful performance by Huppert, Merci Pour Le Chocolat is a suspenseful psychological thriller.

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Critics Reviews

View All (55) Critics Reviews
Budd Wilkins Slant Magazine The film is all insinuation and implication. May 5, 2022 Full Review Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic We can rejoice that he carries on, breathes his profession as his native air, makes pictures of varying quality but persistently makes them. Mar 5, 2013 Full Review Philip Wuntch Dallas Morning News A tasty appetizer that leaves you wanting more. Rated: C+ Nov 29, 2002 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy A moody and meandering melodrama. Rated: 2.5/4 May 16, 2022 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Nightcap is an intriguing old-fashioned thriller starring the incomparable Isabelle Huppert as an icy queen of a Chocolate Empire, who learns the hard way that neither money nor murder can buy you happiness. Rated: 3.5/5 Nov 3, 2020 Full Review A.S. Hamrah The Baffler One of the most commanding of screen actresses, Isabelle Huppert, deploys three subtle looks: ready to kill someone; has just killed someone; slight confusion when anyone wonders about her inherent correctness. Sep 16, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (78) audience reviews
Simon T Unease threads its way throughout Chabrol's delicate thriller. The complex family relationships - hidden, opaque, mysterious - are echoed in Isabelle Huppert's almost robotic stepmother: so controlled, unknowable even to herself, hiding behind her almost permanent warm smile as she tries to eliminate family members via poisoned hot chocolate. Huppert is of course superb. It's a pity that Jacques Dutronc as her husband doesn't match her. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/24/24 Full Review isla s This is the film for you if you like piano recitals and domestic crime dramas. The plot has some intriguing twists and its somewhat thought provoking. Its interesting to see how the man reacts when the accusations are told to him. Watching various characters interact and admit their fears or concerns to others is certainly interesting. Its quite satisfying to see how things play out and the performances are decent too, especially by Isabelle Huppert, who plays the scheming Mar-eClaire aka 'Mika' Muller. There's certainly an element of manipulation at play, though I won't elaborate even further, so as not to provide any more/accidental spoilers. There does appear to be an element of handbags at dawn about this film though, its fair to say. Its about family secrets and being truthful. I thought it had the feel of a theatrical play about it - a play about a crime, perhaps slightly Poirot-esque (well it is French). It's a film for you if you like subtle but underhanded films about sneaky women, I suppose. Yes, I'd recommend this film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Nightcap, also known as Merci pour le Chocolat, was based on the novel The Chocolate Cobweb by Charlotte Armstrong. It's directed and co-written (with Caroline Eliacheff) by Claude Chabrol, whose career is being re-released by Arrow Video in several box sets. André Polonski (Jacques Dutronc) is an internationally recognized concert pianist whose love life is interesting to say the least. He was first married to Mika Muller (Isabelle Huppert), the owner of a chocolate company before he left her for Lisbeth, the mother of his son Guillaume. When Mika dies in an automobile accident, he finds himself back in Mika's arms and they're soon married. Guillaume is listless and doesn't care for anything, while André abuses sleeping pills and ignores Mika. When a potential student Jeanne (Anna Mouglalis) arrives, she sees bad intentions in everyone. And as for her, she may be André's daughter. And as for Mika, she may have murdered Lisbeth and is definitely poisoning Guillaume with the hot chocolate she serves him every night. Shot in the home of David Bowie, Chabrol found himself turning to Hitchcock while making this film, if the poison-laced hot chocolate is any indication, as it's so close to the arsenic coffee from Notorious. John Waters selected this movie in his top ten films for 2002, saying "It's her again. Isabelle Huppert poisons her family, and Claude Chabrol tells her how to do it with cinematic perfection." He's right. If you ever need to cast a dispassionate murderess, always go with Isabelle Huppert. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Isabelle Huppert can master all characters with ease, but she is most good at playing sinister women. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A truly loveliest european film with wise plot ,wonderful actresses and the prettiest setting ! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Se Isabelle Huppert me oferecesse um chocolate, eu beberia este chocolate. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Nightcap

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Movie Info

Synopsis Starring Isabelle Huppert and Jacques Dutronc as the epitome of marital bliss, living a beautiful lavish life in Lausanne, Switzerland. While Mika (Isabelle Huppert) is busy running a successful chocolate company, Andre (Jacques Dutronc) rehearses marvelous compositions on the piano. Deep down, something is amiss, and Chabrol spins this bittersweet yarn into a dark mystery.
Director
Claude Chabrol
Producer
Marin Karmitz
Screenwriter
Charlotte Armstrong, Claude Chabrol, Caroline Eliacheff
Distributor
First Run
Production Co
L'Office Federal de la Culture, Radio Télévision Suisse Romande
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 2, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$443.2K
Runtime
1h 39m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround
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