This marvelous low budget film, Claude Chabrol's first, is considered by many to be the opening salvo of the French New Wave. It stars Jean-Claude Brialy as a man who returns to his hometown after a long absence only to find that his old friend, "beautiful Serge," played by Gerard Blain, who Truffaut called "the French James Dean," has failed to realize his potential as a man and is no more than an embittered alcoholic. Serge takes out his self-loathing on his pregnant wife (Michele Meritz) while Brialy begins an affair with her sexually aggressive kid sister, the astonishing Bernadette Lafont, Blain's wife in real life at that time. This magnificent story of psychological suspense was shot in the village of Sardent and, presumably, includes some locals in the cast. If you've ever wondered why so many have wished to visit France or live there for awhile, some answers may be found here, in its presentation of the special character of the French people. It provides a template for the career of the unique Claude Chabrol. Beautifully shot, staged and edited, it would profit the viewer to see it multiple times.
Review of Le Beau Serge
