Nightcap (Merci Pour Le Chocolat)

***4 STARS WITH SOME CONTEXT***This slow burn thriller is a latter work by Claude Chabrol with Hitchcockian flair. If you are not familiar with Claude Chabrol (prominent and most prolific of the French New Wave School), you may want to dabble before you dive in head first. I admit, the first ten minutes of this movie dragged a bit for me. I have learned however, particularly with intellectual French films, to let things run and decide later. Numerous intriguing mysteries are introduced as the plot progresses and my interest was easily held. It is openly stated that Chabrol movies are notoriously difficult to describe in print. Here is my take without giving anything away.THE PLOT: The movie opens as we see scenes of two different families. On one hand we have the remarriage of famous pianist Andre Polonski to an heiress of a Swiss chocolate company Mika Muller. They were married once before when very young and then divorced. We also learn that Andre married the love of his life, Lisbeth, later and had a son named Guillaume. Sadly, Polonski's second wife died in a tragic accident ten years after the birth of their son Giullaume. This brings us back to the opening scene where Polonski is remarrying his first wife Mika, they live at her estate, and his son is nearly grown. On the other hand we see beautiful Jeanne Pollet and her mother Louise having lunch with a friend. The mother's friend lets it slip that there was an accident at the hospital when Jeanne was born. This is where the tale begins to get interesting. Jeanne Pollet and Guillaume Polonski were born the same day in the same hospital. When Andre Polonski arrived after the birth, the nurse mistakenly brought the wrong baby to Polonski and informed him he had a daughter! When his wife explained later after waking up that she had a boy, Andre was incensed. All was apparently explained and life went on. So, after Jeanne (who is also an aspiring concert pianist) learns this secret, she becomes obsessed with the story and goes to see Polonski at his home. The family is quite taken with Jeanne and it is clear from photos how much she resembles the deceased wife Lisbeth. ---- This is not the only mystery! Jeanne develops a rapport with Polonski and studies with him as a pianist. On one of her near daily visits, she notices Mika, the current wife, intentionally spills some hot chocolate so that it cannot be consumed. Jeanne jokes with her boyfriend later that maybe it was poisoned (why else would she intentionally spilled it). Well, Jeanne's boyfriend works at the lab administered by Jeanne's mother and has a sample of the spilled chocolate analyzed from Jeanne's sweater. It comes back with substantial amounts of the drug rohypnol (ruffi) which causes Jeanne to now be suspicious of Mika's activities and motives.This is a winding tale laced with huge amounts of parental dysfunction and distance (again, Chabrol). We are exasperated at the world Chabrol creates where the malevolence lurks without apparent consequence and ultimately with some understanding from the characters around it. Numerous nagging conundrums or mysteries will be thrown out with some apparent resolutions that still don't seem quite certain. In the end, the main mystery we attempt to understand is the reason for this calculating manipulation and how far will it be taken. Much is understated here. It is Chabrol's style to leave the depths of depravity alluded to, yet never plumbed completely in our view. The disarming charm of Isabelle Huppert and terrific performance of Anna Mouglalis are part of what really makes this movie work. They depict what I believe Chabrol intended in the progression of these contrasting personalities. It is interesting to see at each turn where the real manipulation and obsession may lie. All this is decorated with the various conundrums I mentioned being thrown at the audience to digest as the movie plods on.If this sounds interesting and you don't know French New Wave cinema, give it a rent to see first. I admit I was not blown away by this movie though I know fans of the genre will love it. It did receive the prix Louis-Delluc award in France with a more modest acceptance in the US as the average reviews were positive, but not astronomical. On a less forgiving day, I would give it 3 or 3 1/2 stars. It is still considered a master work.

I won't pay for the film since there were no subtitles

Great Huppert

Excellent film d'une grande beauté dont la fin n'est pas d'un très grand punch, c'est le voyage qui compte et pas nécessairement la destination! À voir certainement à plusieurs reprises!... les sous-titres s'enlèvent facilement!...

Rien a redire sur le film. Par contre, l'éditeur (américain - sic), n'a pas imaginé que le public français pourrait être intéressé par des films de Chabrol en HD. Du coup, sur certains lecteur de salons, impossible de désactiver les sous titres en français, qui en plus prennent une place énorme dans l'image. Bref, vivement qu'un éditeur français s'empare de ce cinéma et nous propose des éditions plus intelligemment pensees