Charles Belmont and pals discover a car parked in their usual space. They move it onto the sidewalk. The car belongs to Jean-Claude Brialy. He vows vengeance on Belmont for this slight, using the seductive Bernadette Lafont.
When you look at a movie by Claude Chabrol, you will be confronted with an array of expensive European brands that will make you think that there is some product placement going on. There may be, but usually Chabrol uses them as short hand to show you these people are not only wealthy, they're noveau riche. Here, Belmont and Brialy define themselves by their wealth and brands; Belmont is impressed that Brialy has a Roll-Royce; Brialy cites other owners of the model by name, rich and creative people, as if his possession makes him creative. As part Brialy's vengeance, he holds a destructive party in Belmont's quarters in his uncle's house. Belmont, on seeing the damage, is aghast at losing his uncle's patronage, and having to work for a living.
And so forth. Such details often seem to lurk in the subtext of Chabrol's movies. Here, they are the main text, resulting in characters who are utterly insulated from the lessons they might learn from their folly. But by the end of the movie, they may have moved on, but they have not changed, and they are pleased by that.
When you look at a movie by Claude Chabrol, you will be confronted with an array of expensive European brands that will make you think that there is some product placement going on. There may be, but usually Chabrol uses them as short hand to show you these people are not only wealthy, they're noveau riche. Here, Belmont and Brialy define themselves by their wealth and brands; Belmont is impressed that Brialy has a Roll-Royce; Brialy cites other owners of the model by name, rich and creative people, as if his possession makes him creative. As part Brialy's vengeance, he holds a destructive party in Belmont's quarters in his uncle's house. Belmont, on seeing the damage, is aghast at losing his uncle's patronage, and having to work for a living.
And so forth. Such details often seem to lurk in the subtext of Chabrol's movies. Here, they are the main text, resulting in characters who are utterly insulated from the lessons they might learn from their folly. But by the end of the movie, they may have moved on, but they have not changed, and they are pleased by that.