The English title of this one could perhaps give the erroneous impression of being a black comedy when actually it turns out to be a combination of financial thriller and family drama. This could in itself constitute a disappointment for discriminating viewers but, a minor work though it is, I cannot say I was bored during the film's nearly two-hour running-time.
Constituting the seventh collaboration between director Chabrol and his female star Isabelle Huppert since 1978's VIOLETTE NOZIERE, the film boasts another fine turn from the formidable French actress as a dreaded Judge dubbed "The Piranha" investigating a convoluted series of financial transactions involving various international conglomerates. Huppert's first 'victim' is allergy-ridden businessman Francois Berleand, later a celebrity middle-man and even a supposed suitor of Huppert's. Her uncompromising stand soon sees her treading on big-league toes and she is given a couple of promotions (and an initially antagonistic female partner) to throw her off the scent of the misappropriated funds.
Back home, Huppert's family life is no bed of roses, either: her husband is often relegated to the sidelines not just by her all-important workload but also by his own charismatic live-in nephew (played by the director's own son, Thomas). To top it all off, Huppert's offices are broken into, she has a traffic accident and is briefly hospitalized, Huppert quits her husband who subsequently leaps (albeit not fatally) out of the window and Huppert's loyal secretary is, at the very end of the film, discovered to have been the mole all along! While the narrative may seem busy enough from this synopsis, the film's talky nature makes its pace a fairly slow one; however, as I already intimated earlier on, Chabrol's unwavering professionalism and consummate elegance and the solid performances on display ensure the viewer's interest in the proceedings despite the possibly unappealing milieu of financial intrigue.
Constituting the seventh collaboration between director Chabrol and his female star Isabelle Huppert since 1978's VIOLETTE NOZIERE, the film boasts another fine turn from the formidable French actress as a dreaded Judge dubbed "The Piranha" investigating a convoluted series of financial transactions involving various international conglomerates. Huppert's first 'victim' is allergy-ridden businessman Francois Berleand, later a celebrity middle-man and even a supposed suitor of Huppert's. Her uncompromising stand soon sees her treading on big-league toes and she is given a couple of promotions (and an initially antagonistic female partner) to throw her off the scent of the misappropriated funds.
Back home, Huppert's family life is no bed of roses, either: her husband is often relegated to the sidelines not just by her all-important workload but also by his own charismatic live-in nephew (played by the director's own son, Thomas). To top it all off, Huppert's offices are broken into, she has a traffic accident and is briefly hospitalized, Huppert quits her husband who subsequently leaps (albeit not fatally) out of the window and Huppert's loyal secretary is, at the very end of the film, discovered to have been the mole all along! While the narrative may seem busy enough from this synopsis, the film's talky nature makes its pace a fairly slow one; however, as I already intimated earlier on, Chabrol's unwavering professionalism and consummate elegance and the solid performances on display ensure the viewer's interest in the proceedings despite the possibly unappealing milieu of financial intrigue.