Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on February 14, 2012 at 07:59:34

Michel Bousquet stars as a man who goes just a little far with his girlfriend's wishes for "rough play," leaving her strangled in a friend's apartment. Since the affair was secret, he avoids being named as a suspect and his life can go on. Or can it? Not soon after, he begins to have Raskolnikov-like ("Crime and Punishment") feelings of guilt that lead him to consider the only way out...
Stephane Audran quietly portrays the steadfast wife, her translucent, piercing eyes a mystery and a wonder to behold. But, the film belongs to Bouquet who humanizes what must be a monster; his thin lips and all-but-expressionless face create the full palette of emotions, effortlessly.
Do not expect splatter, chases, or any other adult game-boy type nonsense: this is for the viewer with the patience of a reader, willing to risk internalizing the horror of the worst of crimes as Chabrol mercilessly, layer-by-layer, removes the distance between the innocent and the guilty.