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Released by: Pathfinder Pictures
Released on: 5/20/2003
Director: Claude Chabrol
Cast: Rod Steiger, Paolo Giusti, Romy Schneider
Year: 1975
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The Movie:
An icy attractive blonde with a rich husband 18 years her senior is the obvious pairing for deceit and unfaithfulness that occurs in Claude Chabrol's 1975 thrill Les Innocents Aux Mains Sales (Innocents with Dirty Hands.)
Romy Schneider is Julie Wormser, the sexually languishing wife of Louis Wormser (Rod Steiger), who has taken up drinking to deal with his husbandly inabilities after suffering a heart attack and moving to St. Tropez to retire. In steps Jeff Marlo, (Paolo Giusti) an attractive young writer who lives nearby and begins an affair with Julie who is fed up with Louis's drunken bouts and tired of the lack of intimacy in her life.
Almost immediately, a plan is quickly put into motion to kill off Louis and make it look like he had an accidental second heart attack on his boat, and then live happily ever after on his money. While the events initially seem to go as planned, Julie strikes Louis while sleeping with Jeff taking off to a nearby locale to prevent any suspicion after disposing of the body, an investigation is begun by a local maritime inspector, and his fellow officer friend who is visiting from Paris.
Soon, unanswered questions begin pouring in from the local police, and from Julie herself who finds out that all of Louis' money had been removed from his accounts, and that he also put their house up for sale. She also finds out from the investigators that Louis had never suffered a heart attack, but had in fact been impotent, and had lied to her to prevent embarrassment. When Jeff comes up missing and suspected dead as the car he was in plummeted over a cliff and washed up on the rocks, Julie is left with the possibility of being alone, penniless, and as a primary suspect in the disappearance of Louis.
As she attempts to survive the events, more fateful clues are disclosed that threaten to destroy her further, and result in a variety of turns in the story, as the investigators relentlessly continue to pursue the case, and she is ultimately forced to reconcile with her feelings for everyone involved.
As expected in a Claude Chabrol film, the consequences to an almost inevitable affair are not as obvious as one would believe. The results of justice and deception are woven in a matter that show that justice is not always based on lawfulness, but rather a result of who believes what to be true.
Additionally, there are several areas where the film takes certain tones and characterizations and utilizes them with particular settings and comments for different effects.
There is the comment the dialogue and characters make on the biases people have about beautiful women and how they can sometimes be treated differently because of their looks, whether in a positive fashion by giving them special treatment, or with negative assumptions about how they will act. It's constantly noted, in an insinuating fashion, by the people she must encounter after Louis is gone that she is pretty, and even her lawyer makes the comment that he would have 'dropped her like a hot potato' if she wasn't attractive.
Next, there is coldness to the film that is emphasized in the glances at the nighttime sea, the black clothes and diamonds adorned by Julie, and the constant shadows that are constantly surrounding the characters, almost engulfing them sometimes.
Last, the use of the color green in the film is a continuous background to a variety of the settings. Everything from a pale sea green shag carpet, to an overpowering green office wall, to the constant greenery of the natural coastal surroundings is part of the landscape. It seems to make a comment on the various aspects or emotions that green is associated with: jealousy, sickliness, and nature.
Overall it's a well thought out film on the somewhat common dramatic subject of infidelity. The various techniques with the color, story, and characters gives the theme its own unique Chabrol branding, and provides more insight and thought about the settings and emotions that result from the murderous consequences that result.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The video is non anamorphic, and the aspect ratio is 1.78.1. It suffers from some PAL conversion trailing and some mild print damage, but the colors were bright and strong despite this.
There are three audio tracks, all of which are Dolby Digital 2 channel, and are available in French, English, and Spanish. There are also removable English subtitles. There were also quite a few instances where the film was not completely subtitled, but it luckily did not detract too much from the story, and I was able to get the 'gist' of what the character had said.
The extras include a still gallery, original French language theatrical trailer, and biographies of Claude Chabrol, Romy Schneider, Rod Steiger, and Jean Rochefort.
The Final Word:
This was part of the 8 disc Claude Chabrol Collection box set, and while the presentation was not as clear as some of the other films, it's a solid story that presents many of the skills of the famous French director, with a quality cast and gorgeous cinematography. It is a film for people who like to read between the lines and enjoy the storyline subtleties and powerful effects that Chabrol can bring to a dramatic thriller.