Audience Member
A seemingly perfect family existence is shattered yet addressed with a similar calm efficiency. Perfect casting with Audran and Bouquet
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Of course, Rohmer and Chabrol wrote a classic book about Hitchcock, so it should come as no surprise that this thriller by the latter contains an extended homage to Psycho. Chabrol has also adopted the Master's wicked wit and, more than once, the audience is teased and tormented because they have been led to identify with a guilty party. Indeed, who wouldn't identify with Michel Bouquet, the possibly cuckolded husband who hires a private detective to discover whether his wife, Stephane Audran, is cheating on him. As with Hitch, the little moments matter, as each unfolding situation involves tensions and dynamics beneath the surface action that only those privy to each character's secret knowledge can fully comprehend - and in this case, both husband and wife have secrets. Their marriage may be strained but when they become complicit in each other's secrets, perhaps this bolsters it? Not a particularly deep movie, but a wicked, witty, absorbing thriller for those who like the screws tightened.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Remade three times, one of them being the more famous Adrian Lyne's <i>Unfaithful</i> (2002), Chabrol tells the story about a bored wife who cheats on her husband, as indicated by the title. Her husband is suspicious and hires a Private Investigator to confirm his own thoughts and the whereabouts of his wife.
Yup, that's it.
Now this is the part where I convince you to watch the film.
1) It was about bloody time that Chabrol, a renowned Hitchcock fan, made a thriller. His past projects were asphyxiating in terms of bleakness, so his style making a transition to a crime story with a creepy musical score, a femme-fatale remnant and suspenseful sequences was maybe the most logical step. He casts Stéphane Audran once again, this time as the sophisticated and sexy wife with a killer look, vicious intentions, and yet with her facet of being a caring mother while she's in home.
2) Mentioned already, Hitchcock's influence is here. It was present since <i>Le Beau Serge</i> (1958), Chabrol's dark tribute. As is the case of Hitchcock, the power of this thriller comes from its cinematograohic language: the impact of silences, the attention to detail, the slow sequences creating suspense, the tense conversations between characters, and the contrast between this macabre environment and the more benign domestic family life. This contrast is put to great effect through Chabrol's lens.
3) I'm 95% sure that Chabrol knew this was a very simple and common story, even by the 60s standards. So not only the execution had to justify its simplicity, but also the resolution. I'll stop here for the sake of the enjoyment of others.
Making thrillers is an art, just like any other genre, and this movie proves it. Whether the final result is to redefine the genre, or simply to replicate it with style and provide a great entertainment value, a good crime film is a good crime film.
I rest my case.
83/100
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
a decent drama though i was admittedly in the mood for a racier perk-me -up.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The central mystery that drives this film is so engrossing that the viewer almost relishes in the most mundane details, searching for meaning.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Chabrol's most perfect film,
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
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