Word: infidelis
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Melodrama is alive and well in Paris. La Femme Infidèle is a smooth, elegant, feline exercise in psychological suspense, devoted to the proposition that the old formulas, if not the best, are still more entertaining than most...
Director Claude Chabrol, a disciple of Hitchcock, shoots more for nuance than frisson. It is his wily variations on a hoary theme that give La Femme Infidèle its own small distinction. A wealthy Parisian insurance man (Michel Bouquet) takes casual note that his supple young wife (Stephane Audran) acts rather nervous when he interrupts her on the telephone. He engages a private detective to follow her on her shopping trips to Paris and has his worst suspicions quickly confirmed: she is having an affair. Her paramour is a writer (Maurice Ronet) who lives mostly off his "independent means...
Chabrol edits his film like Hitchcock, cutting to unexpected angles for jarring surprise effect, and stages a body disposal scene that is reminiscent of Psycho. The performances are restrained and electric with tension, like the film itself. La Femme Infidèle does not have the full impact of the master's touch, but at least it demonstrates the benefits of the Hitchcock tutelage...
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