INNOCENTS WITH DIRTY HANDS (director: Claude Chabrol; cast: Romy Schneider (Julie Wormser), Rod Steiger (Louis Wormser), Paolo Giusti (Jeff Marle), Jean Rochefort (Maître Légal), François Maistre (Commissaire Lamy), Pierre Santini (Commissaire Villon), François Perrot (Georges Thorent), Hans-Christian Blech (Judge), 1975-France)
Given the context of the material for this pulp thriller, it is surprising that this English speaking Chabrol film, set in St. Tropez, is as diverting and suspenseful as it is. Credit must be given to an ingenious script, and acting kudos, especially for Romy, Jean, François, and Pierre, for making it possible for us to be fascinated with all the twists in the ever changing plot. The storyline starts off simply as a case of a boorish wealthy husband, Louis (Steiger), and his attractive younger wife, Julie (Romy), having a bit of a row in front of Julie's new acquaintance, her handsome neighbor Jeff (Paolo), who introduces himself as being a hack writer. Louis drunkenly asks his wife in front of Jeff, "Why don't we ever make love ?" The obvious affair between Julie and Jeff begins as soon as Louis retires for the night, and with Chabrol you know that is just the beginning of more mysterious things to ensue.
Chabrol will go on to explore many of the themes he has used before, to belittle the bourgeois lifestyle, to question why sex is the most important thing in a relationship, and how money is such a psychological part of one's mindset. This is all done, as the cheating couple decides to kill Louis and dump his body in the sea, so that he will never be found and Julie can inherit everything, and when things quiet down they will get back together.
A visiting Paris police inspector and his friend, the local police inspector take an interest in the case, suspecting foul play, never convinced of Julie's story that her husband is missing. They come to the conclusion, after much spirited conversation about the case over some hearty meals and good liquor, that she is having an affair with Jeff, as important clues pop up, like her missing earring in Jeff's apartment, an envelope addressed to Jeff, postmarked after her husband was reported missing, that is found in the front seat of a crashed car over the side of the seacoast, a car that Julie told the police her husband loaned Jeff, and then there is the information they gathered from Louis's doctor, that Louis made up the story of having a heart condition because he was ashamed of his impotency and wanted Julie to think that he couldn't perform because of his bad heart. The gut feeling of the police is that Julie and her boyfriend killed Louis and dumped his body out to sea. But Julie's lawyer, Mr. Légal (Rochefort), you just can't top that for a lawyer's name, as he goes about his lawyer's business in an abrasive and madly befitting way, using logic and the command of his wit to the nth degree to get his client cleared of all the circumstantial charges. Mr. Légal is a pip, a pleasure to see on screen; a character nonpareil, played to perfection, someone who, despite his small part, you will remember long after seeing the film.
Just when you think you think you got what is happening, the twists keep coming, like Louis coming back to Julie, getting sex from her on the expensive carpet, just like she gave it to Jeff, telling her he's a new man because of them (Too bad they didn't have Viagra then). A little Freudian transference is thrown into the stew, as Louis goes on to boast how he outfoxed the couple, staying sober one night to spy on them, aware of their love making and plans to do him in, he thereby, jumps Jeff first, throwing him into the deep blue sea. But if you think you got where the story is going now, you better get ready for a few more curve balls thrown your way, because Chabrol is going to town with this thriller, twisting and turning at the movement of every Julie sexy wiggle.
The outcome is a satisfying one, though if you start to think of what occurred, of relationships changing every reel, of those dead, not being dead, you might have some doubts about the possibilities of pulling off all the switches. But by having the police using their power of deduction to amusingly follow the trail as closely and as delightfully as they can, it all adds punch to the pulp story, so even if you are aware that there are a few turn of events that might stretch the imagination a little too much, that maybe the story did get a little too cute, as there are too many places where you can cast doubt that the story would hold up to further scrutiny; nevertheless, it is more fun to let the story pass as it is, and enjoy it for what it is, as Jeff turns up alive, and the situation must get resolved again, as Julie is now in a position to choose between the new Louis, now able to service her properly, and the dashingly irresistible Jeff.
What an enjoyable film this is ! So much is thrown into the mix, if you don't like one twist in the story there is another to soon come, as the cold-hearted bitchy sexpot Julie becomes more important to the men than the money or their state of well-being. Chabrol even gives the justice system a well-deserved scolding, saying the reason for the vagaries in justice existing as it does for women, is because the law was created by men for men. The film begins in irony and ends in irony, even though everything about the characters involved has changed. Even the police seem a little smarter for their effort.
REVIEWED ON 4/1/99 GRADE: B+
Dennis Schwartz: "Movie Reviews"
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