La Femme Infidele (1969)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

La Femme Infidele (1969) – C. Chabrol

Of course, Rohmer and Chabrol wrote a classic book about Hitchcock, so it should come as no surprise that this thriller by the latter contains an extended homage to Psycho.  Chabrol has also adopted the Master’s wicked wit and, more than once, the audience is teased and tormented because they have been led to identify with a guilty party.  Indeed, who wouldn’t identify with Michel Bouquet, the possibly cuckolded husband who hires a private detective to discover whether his wife, Stephane Audran, is cheating on him.  As with Hitch, the little moments matter, as each unfolding situation involves tensions and dynamics beneath the surface action that only those privy to each character’s secret knowledge can fully comprehend – and in this case, both husband and wife have secrets.  Their marriage may be strained but when they become complicit in each other’s secrets, perhaps this bolsters it?  Not a particularly deep movie, but a wicked, witty, absorbing thriller for those who like the screws tightened.