morrison-dylan-fan 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.

writers_reign Had either neither Chabrol himself or the production company been gracious or, indeed, honest enough to acknowledge Richard Fleisher's The Girl On The Red Velvet Swing as source material we could have discussed this as a remake, instead we are obliged to substitute rip-off. In 1955 Fleisher used the real names of the three players in a real-life tragedy of some half a century earlier; Evelyn Nesbitt, celebrated as the 'Gibson' girl, a nod to the many drawings made of her by the well-known artist Charles Dana Gibson; Stanford White, a celebrated architect - he designed Madison Square Garden among others - and Harry K. Thaw, a mentally unbalanced millionaire playboy, the roles played by Joan Collins, Ray Milland and Farley Granger respectively. Chabrol has fictionalised both the names and occupations of the characters - so that Francois Berleand in the Ray Milland role is now an architect, Benoit Magimal in the Farley Granger role the wealthy playboy son of an industrialist and Ludo Sagnier in the Joan Collins role, a weather girl on TV - and set the action in the modern day but none of this is enough to escape the charge of rip-off; to do that he must radically change the storyline which he has not, adhering in fact, almost slavishly to the facts in the original case. You'll go a long way to find a non native of France who admires French film as much as me let alone more so but I have to admit defeat here. Ludo Sagnier merely confirms what I have always maintained, that she simply cannot act with her clothes on, Magimal has little to do but employ his trademark 'sullen' look and throw the odd hissy fit, which is just as well as he is ill equipped for anything more ambitious which leaves Berleand, the best actor on the set by a country mile, to waste his time and talent on this dross.

jotix100 It takes a talented director and his collaborating screen writer to turn a typical American story into a bourgeois French drama with a different take on the same basic premise. That is what Claude Chabrol, and Cecile Maistre, who is also his step-daughter, accomplished with this film about obsession and lust that involves a an emotional triangle that one knows is doomed from the start.Gabrielle Deniege, a young television weather person in Lyon, seems to be enjoying herself; she has a promising career and from what one sees, she is the object of desire by her TV boss, who will, no doubt, push her to bigger things in exchange of sexual favors. Alas, Gabrielle has a mind of her own, but even she can't resist the advances of the much older Chales Saint-Denis, a writer she happens to meet at the store where her mother manages. Charles takes a shine to the young woman, who in turn is seduced by the idea of being with the older man.At the same time, the rich young heir of a pharmacy fortune, Paul Gaudens, appears at the same book signing session. He too, it seems, is impressed by young Gabrielle. He begins pursuing her, but little does he know Gabrielle is already involved with Saint-Denis. The older lover takes her to his secret apartment in the city, as well as introducing her to the naughty club he frequents. He has another thing in mind, as we shall learn later on. In the meantime, when the old man decides to go on a trip to England, he drops Gabrielle to fend for herself. Paul, seizes on the opportunity to show how much he cares by taking her to Lisbon, although their affair is, in a sense, a puritanical one. Since Gabrielle senses that Charles is out of the picture, she decides to marry Paul on the rebound. When Saint-Denis shows up again, it's already too late.This film that evidently was made for television shows a different Chabrol, a man who has made a career as a master of the suspense. Alas, there is not so much in this picture, but the viewer is hooked from the beginning of the story, as he knows there will be fireworks out of the elements at stake.The three principals, Ludivine Sagnier, Francois Berleand, and Benoit Magimel, that appear as the angles of the romantic trio, do fine work under Mr. Chabrol's direction. We particularly liked the work of Mr. Berleand, who gives us an excellent chance to enjoy his nuanced performance. Ms. Saigner keeps getting better all the time, and the same could be said about Mr. Magimel, a promising young actor who worked with the director in "La fleur du mal". Caroline Sihol, who is seen as Paul's mother, gives a touch of class as the rich and controlling society woman.Even a minor Chabrol is better than most of what comes out of France these days.

Seamus2829 For years,French suspense director,Claude Chabrol has often been regarded as the Gallic Alfred Hitchcock. For this outing, he has mined the harbor of Woody Allen, and come up a wee bit short. Ludivine Sagnier plays an attractive weather girl who is torn between her affections for an older man,who is a famous writer, and a spoiled rich boy,who claims to adore her. It's up to her to decide which one she is to take up with. This film will probably be a major turn off to those who are appalled by the whole April/December affair (he's old enough to be her grandfather). It still beats watching 'High School Musical 3' (which isn't saying much). No MPAA rating,but contains some vulgar language & adult situations,which are somewhat tastefully depicted with restraint.