"Death In A French Garden" is a film that only the French could have made, and, in this case at least, this is meant as a compliment. It's both low-down and elegant; it's sexually very frank, with characters on the edge of morality, but at the same time the director keeps winking at you, telling you not to take all of this too seriously. This attitude is personified by the lead of the film, Christophe Malavoy, who stays bemused and unshocked for, say, 95% of the time, even though he meets nymphomaniacs, weirdos, assassins, etc. Some of these characters may appear extraneous at first, but they all serve their purpose as the constantly surprising plot unfolds. And classical music buffs will love the eclectic soundtrack. *** out of 4.

Michel Deville is a French filmmaker known for his aesthetic refinement and "Péril en la Demeure" bears its author's trademark. It's filmed with elegance and everything from the scenery to the acting, the camera angles to the music without mentioning witty dialogs breathes the refined. One can't forget the neat link shots, the fluid editing that add to the pernicious charm this shady thriller exudes from its three exploited mainsprings: perversion, manipulation and voyeurism. Nearly everyone in this film is a peeping tom like the offbeat female neighborhood (Anémone) who films the lovemaking between the guitarist teacher David (Christophe Malavoy) and Julia (Nicole Garcia) or Julia's husband Graham (Michel Piccoli) who watched these lovemaking sessions on the videotape. As for the manipulation, Julia leads David up the garden path by making him believe that he killed her husband while seasoned killer Daniel (Richard Bohringer) tries to make him understand that he's got a mission to fulfill.Deville diverts the codes, the ingredients of the genre to his own advantage to create a stylish, idiosyncratic thriller and a mirror film directed to the viewer about his peeping tom side. It's easy to let oneself immerse in this universe and to forget the irregularities or glitches that undermine a little the storytelling even if Deville has recourse to zones of shadow and clues likely to explain the characters' motivations. If the filmmaker bore this in mind, he can be forgiven for his possible mistakes.

This is one for the 'style-over-content' buffs which is not, of course, in itself a bad thing. Stylish it definitely is; in spades yet, but content. It's one of those entries where even as you are admiring the style you find yourself asking pertinent questions (Warning: Spoilers Ahead). How has the guitar tutor come to the attention of the family, so much so that the father will consider no one else to teach his - as it turns out - precocious daughter? Would the tutor really leave a tuning-fork behind at his initial interview, indeed, would he even have 1) taken it at all and 2) removed it from his pocket if he had? Given that he DID leave it behind without realising, would the wife insist on returning it to him immediately and then seduce him? Would an apparently single woman living alone move into a large, expensive, family-sized home, effect a limp merely because she had a cane with her, invite a stranger into her new home and over light refreshments engage him in a discussion on the relative pros and cons of blonde versus brunette pubic hair? Would this same eccentric neighbor begin immediately to videotape the sex sessions the tutor enjoyed with the mother of his pupil and then send the tapes to the participants for no recognisable (i.e. blackmail) motive? Would a hit-man be passing at the precise moment the tutor is attacked and, having saved the tutor would the hit-man go on to befriend him and ultimately confide that his next 'target' is the father of his pupil? If you answered 'yes' to any or all of these questions do you always park your brain at the popcorn stand on the way to the auditorium? The trick with a movie of this kind is that, Yes, you DO ask yourself these questions even as the improbable sequence of events unfolds before your eyes but you choose to IGNORE them and surrender to the Style and/or performances. With heavy hitters like these you won't go far wrong and the film remains ultimately a triumph of style over content. 8/10

Péril en la demeure is a rather unusual little thriller, in which musician David Aurphet starts an affair with the mother of his pupil. Her husband finds out and David's life has some nightmarish turns. I have to admit that my description makes it sound rather conventional but it certainly is not.It is debatable how well this film works as a thriller, but there is no doubt that the love scenes between Nicole Garcia and Christophe Malavoy are absolutely stunning. They ooze sensuality and are almost like a ballet, both people moving sensitively, slowly, and silently, suggesting, responding to the other, teasing and hesitating, touching and retreating. These few little scenes belong to the most erotic moments ever to be put on celluloid.