"La fleur du mal" : excursion to Chabrol's land. (1/3)

Some films are slices of life, Hitchcock’s were slices of cake.

Chabrol’s « La fleur du mal » -The flower of evil ; (2002)- is a full meal : oysters, « filets de lamproie » -lamprey- or sole, « gigot », « tarte » ; whisky, white wine and brandy.

Film opens on a long, masterly tracking shot : we enter a large manor house, pass by a dining room where the table is being set, walk upstairs ; a young woman is crying in a room, a man’s corpse is lying next door ; a sentimental standard of the 1930’s or 1940’s plays in the background.

Cut to an Air France plane.

François (Benoit Magimel), early twenties, is coming home from Chicago where he was studying. He is welcomed by his father, Gérard (Bernard Le Coq), who drives him back to the family home in a small town near Bordeaux.

The car parks in front of a manor house, which we recognise from the opening shot. A remake of the opening shot takes us inside, but goes no further than the dining room.

The table is set for the return of the family son and for Chabrol to spin his web.

We are introduced to lovely elderly Tante Line (Suzanne Flon), equally lovely but much younger Michèle (Mélanie Doutey), finally to smart and elegant Anne (Nathalie Baye).

We are delighted : all these people seem endearing and charming : the ideal upper-middle class French family. Except that François calls Anne « Belle Maman » - Stepmum- rather than « Maman » -Mum- and his relationship with Michèle seems more intimate than would become brother-sister love.

The recomposed - but how ?- family sits for lunch. François’s return is cause for celebration : white cloth, silverware, crystal glasses. Tante Line has arranged it all with the help of Marthe, the housekeeper ; she has also cooked François’s favourite dish, « lamproie », plus a « tarte » ; his father contributes a bottle of excellent white wine to the occasion.

Like in the car between François and his father, there is a good deal of idle talk ; Gérard proffers « clichés » about the US and their food habits, but his son warns him : « Les Américains sont moins cons qu’ils veulent le paraître » -Americans are less dumb than they wish to seem.

Viewers beware : when clichés are uttered in a Chabrol film, they do not inform us about the director’s own thoughts, but about the character who states them.

Likewise, idle talk, harmless comments, private jokes and obscure remarks need to be closely monitored : we do not want to fall too easily for the characters’ winning charm.

As he waited for his son at the airport, Gérard parked on a « disabled only » space : he had tricked his way to an official badge for the right to do so.

Despite Gérard’s constant smile, some tension seemed to build up between father and son in the car.

A chemist -like Chabrol’s own father-, Gérard hinted, when pointing to his new store and adjacent pathology laboratory to his son, that he had cut a few administrative corners to build them.

A lot of additional information is effortlessly and playfully passed to us around the table.

As she jokingly scolds Gérard for telling François there will be « lamproie » for lunch, Tante Line says with her sweetest smile : « Tu sais bien qu’ici, tout est un secret » - You know full well everything here is a secret.

Anne is running for the local elections against her husband’s better advice. The more they smile at each other, the more they seem tense.

The family moves to the winter garden for coffee. Anne’s campaign organiser, Lartigue -first name Matthieu, like Chabrol’s son who composed the film musical score, but the part is played by his brother, Thomas- pays a visit. He is upset by an unsigned political tract ; Anne reads it aloud : the tract stirs the mud in the troubled and troubling past of the Charpin-Vasseur family.
Pierre Charpin, a collaborationist, was murdered at the end of WW2 ; rumour accused his daughter, Tante Line, who was cleared in court.

The Charpin-Vasseur family faced other unfortunate dramas. The latest occurred a little over twenty years ago : Anne‘s husband and Gérard‘s wife died together in an accident ; then, as the tract puts it, « the widow married the widower ».

For Gérard, the tract is additional evidence that Anne should stay away from politics ; for his wife, mere gossip and more reason to fight.

Introduction is over. The film can now unfold the plot and sub-plots of a, very likely, excellent script -to know for sure, one need read it- by Caroline Eliacheff, Louise Lambrichs and Chabrol, with an appealing mix of understated elegance and ruthless efficiency.

Each scene is both a pleasure to watch and a narrative step forward ; the film pulls the impossible trick to wander around in a straight line.