Recently watching a superb double bill of François Truffaut works,I got in the mood to see a title from fellow French New Wave auteur Claude Chabrol. Finding her excellent in 8 Women and Love Crime,I was intrigued to find out that Ludivine Sagnier had cut a girl in two with Chabrol.
View on the film:
Becoming the man of Gabrielle's obsession, François Berléand gives a disappointing performance as Denis,which stands cold from Berléand offering neither swagger or passion to express how Denis becomes the centre of Gabrielle's attention. Playing on a romance where nothing is given in return, fit Ludivine Sagnier gives a very good performance as Gabrielle,with Sagnier trying to bring some passion between her and Berléand,along with swaying to catch the eyes of a rival would-be lover. "Unofficially" updating the ripped from the headlines Stanford White murder of 1906, the screenplay by co-writer/(with assistant director Cécile Maistre) director Claude Chabrol saws into the major theme across his work of the murderous self-absorbed state of the bourgeoisie, but misses cynical richness by stretching the run time to just under 2 hours,which leads to tension drying up,even when the girl is cut in two.
View on the film:
Becoming the man of Gabrielle's obsession, François Berléand gives a disappointing performance as Denis,which stands cold from Berléand offering neither swagger or passion to express how Denis becomes the centre of Gabrielle's attention. Playing on a romance where nothing is given in return, fit Ludivine Sagnier gives a very good performance as Gabrielle,with Sagnier trying to bring some passion between her and Berléand,along with swaying to catch the eyes of a rival would-be lover. "Unofficially" updating the ripped from the headlines Stanford White murder of 1906, the screenplay by co-writer/(with assistant director Cécile Maistre) director Claude Chabrol saws into the major theme across his work of the murderous self-absorbed state of the bourgeoisie, but misses cynical richness by stretching the run time to just under 2 hours,which leads to tension drying up,even when the girl is cut in two.