Another great film by Claude Chabrol, this time on the theme of remorse. Fantastic performance by Michel Bouquet as a tortured man. Stephane Audran also at top level, as usual. The "moral" I take from the film is this: we make mistakes and hurt others. But they even forgive us. The great drama is that we can forgive ourselves.

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.

This is one of the few satisfying movies Chabrol made in his long career. Here he has a convincing story that does not require complicated plot zig-zags. It is a simple story of adultery leading to death and the cover-up that follows. The acting is almost all fine--Francois Perier as the widower who expresses little sorrow for his dead wife is especially convincing; he's really acting, not just shrugging his way through a scene. Michel Bouquet has to make his guilt-ridden character (could have been created by Dostoievsky) interesting and sympathetic and mostly he does. Couldn't this be issued on DVD?

One (Perrier) is architect. The other (Bouquet) is an advertisement executive. They've been friends forever and Perrier even designed the Bouquet residence (lady of the house speaking), a tremendous house. Bouquet who is married to Audran has an affair with his friend's wife. They play S&M and he kills her by accident. Every hint points the culprit but no-one wants to face the scandal. Perrier forgives him. Bouquet who wants to be punished decides to face justice but his wife puts him to sleep before he does. About that for a plot, Hollywood? Money can't buy talent.