La Fille coupée en deux (2007)
Directed by Claude Chabrol

Film Review

Has the Master lost his touch?  After the bland La Demoiselle d'honneur and the painfully languorous L'Ivresse du pouvoir, Claude Chabrol appears to have taken up permanent residence in Mediocreville judging by his latest film, which is the palest imitation of his earlier cinematic achievements.  La Fille coupée en deux is a social satire with a distinctly Chabrolesque flavour, mocking not only the artificial and warped world of the privileged bourgeoisie but also the smug, self-satisfied world of contemporary literature, that last bastion of unfettered pretentiousness.  The film has great promise, but it lacks the acerbic bite and chilling undercurrents that we have come to expect of France's answer to Alfred Hitchcock.  This is recognisably the work of Chabrol, but a Chabrol who is muzzled and neutered, lacking the vigour and subtle viciousness of previous years.

As is typical of Chabrol, the film is drenched in cruel irony, with its likeable heroine inexplicably torn between a pompous, egoistical writer and an even more pompous and egoistical playboy.   It is to the film's detriment that the characterisation lacks the sophistication that we would expect of a seasoned screenwriter and metteur en scène.   The characters are either so thinly developed as to be almost invisible, or else so outrageously stereotypical as to make this a virtual parody of a Claude Chabrol film.  Failings in the script are exacerbated by the performances to an almost ludicrous pitch, the worst offender being Benoît Magimel, whose portrayal of a self-obsessed dandy borders on the absurd, wrecking the dramatic tension in several key scenes.

If La Fille coupée en deux has one saving grace it is Ludivine Sagnier.  Here is an actress who could not give a lacklustre performance even if her life depended on it.  She brings a reality, elegance and sly dark humour to the film that miraculously compensates for most of its failings and rekindles something of that former Chabrol brilliance.  Sagnier's portrayal of Gabrielle is wonderfully ambiguous.  We never quite know whether she is a cheap opportunist, a rampant nymphomaniac or is genuinely infatuated with the two chauvinistic grotesques, Charles and Paul.  Is Gabrielle really as innocent as she seems, or is she a calculating femme fatale who deliberately propels her rival lovers to their inescapable doom?  Anyone familiar with Chabrol's oeuvre can hardly fail to see the parallels with his earlier film, Les Cousins (1959).

Whilst it may not be vintage Chabrol, La Fille coupée en deux is a watchable if not altogether satisfying mélange of romantic intrigue and social satire.  It may be a little undercooked and lacking in body, but Ludivine Sagnier's electrifying presence prevents it from being stale and unpalatable.  No, Claude Chabrol hasn't yet lost his touch, but it is hard to get excited about his latest offerings.  Perhaps the best is yet to come...?

Film Synopsis

Gabrielle is a young and very attractive TV weather presenter.  Her interest in literature brings her into contact with Charles Saint-Denis, a successful writer with a temperament to match.  Although Saint-Denis is more than twice her age, Gabrielle begins a passionate love affair with him.  She in turn attracts the attentions of Paul Gaudens, an unstable playboy whose enormous wealth makes him an irresistible catch for Gabrielle.  With two strong-willed lovers vying for her attentions, Gabrille soon finds that she is being torn in two...