The second Claude Chabrol-Michel Bouquet-Stéphane Audran collaboration (after "La Femme Infidèle" - Bouquet and Audran have even kept the same character names, though this time he is the unfaithful one) is, in my opinion, an inferior film in comparison. Its main problem is its lack of narrative drive and dramatic conflict; it's full of suspense "teasers" (the police investigation, a witness, the first confession, the second confession) that never really amount to much (everyone except Bouquet treats an accidental (?) murder with almost complete apathy). Essentially, this film relies on just ONE main idea - a man's guilt that persists even when everyone else tells him to let go ("I cannot bear not to be judged") - to carry it for 102 minutes. There is the occasional great shot, a superb performance by Bouquet, Audran looking her best with red hair, and an enigmatic ending (did Bouquet know what Audran was about to do?), but it often feels as if Chabrol is stretching time. **1/2 out of 4.
Review of Just Before Nightfall
