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Charles
Masson kills his best friend's wife during an illicit S&M
session. Stumbling out of the apartment he runs into François,
her husband, in a bar. Wracked by guilt Charles must go home
to his wife Helene and their two children. With the police
getting nowhere with finding Laura's killer how long can Charles
keep his secret...?
Written and directed by Chabrol, Juste Avant La Nuitis,
is based on a novel by Edouard Atiyah and continues Chabrol's
fascination with infidelity, guilt and the French bourgeoisie.
The plot is less complicated than many of his other films,
dealing simply with the aftermath of a killing and its effects
on those surrounding Charles. His slow decline into the need
to punish himself and to have those around him punish him
also opens up insights into Charles psychology - and some
of the reasons he was engaging in S&M games with his best
friend's wife.
Michel
Bouquet
plays Charles as a suitably guilt ridden killer, but things
are not what they seem. It is not explained until near the
end of the film whether the killing was a sex game gone wrong
or a deliberate act. If the killing was deliberate in order
to create a form of mental flagellation then things go from
bad to worse when Charles discovers that neither his wife
nor his best friend seem to mind that much. The final solution
to Charles dilemma is both surprising and unexpected.
François
Périer's
portrayal of François (now that must have been handy) portrays
his characters lack of feeling towards his wife's death with
great skill. Charles's one act of destruction uncovers the
artifice of Francois and Laura's marriage. He would rather
forgive his friend of 25 years than he would mourn a woman
with whom he had a sham marriage.
A
real delight, though all the acting is superb, was Stéphane
Audran,
who plays Charles wife Helene. At first she is portrayed as
most probably the weakest character, accepting of her husband
infidelity and his eventual confession to killing Laura. In
the end she is the only one of them that has the strength
to act, to restore the status quo.
Much
of the films themes are about right and wrong, while Charles
ponders his actions and how best he can be punished, the other
characters appear more interested in doing the right thing
in order to save face and social status.
The
print isn't as good as it could be with some picture judder
at the beginning and a number of obvious artefacts. There
are no extras as such, just scene selection and a choice of
English subtitle. Sound is stereo, but as this is a piece
about the characters there wouldn't be an awful lot for a
5.1 system to get its teeth into.
Charles
Packer
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