☆ ☆ ☆ ½
La
Rupture (1970) – C. Chabrol
The late ‘60s-early ‘70s psychodramas
from Claude Chabrol ranging from Les Biches (1968) to Just Before Nightfall
(1971) – six films – all have something to offer. La Rupture (The Breach) is a particularly
weird one, starring (again) Stephane Audran (Chabrol’s then wife) as a young
mother whose child is injured by her (depressed substance abuser) husband. She seeks a divorce but the husband’s parents
want custody of their grandchild; to discredit the mother, they hire a
childhood friend of the husband (played by Jean-Pierre Cassel) to follow her
and possibly to attempt to put her in a compromising position. So, these characters are placed in some
extreme situations (accented by intense electronic music) and viewers can
expect to experience emotional stress at times.
This film is less Hitchcockian than some of the others from this period
of Chabrol – perhaps we never quite expect Cassel and the in-laws to succeed so
suspense isn’t built. Yet, there is
enough oddness here to hold your attention, especially if you have gotten the
taste for Chabrol.
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