While the beauty and terrific acting of Sassard and Audran make this film seem to be about sexual roles, sexual ambiguity and personal and sexual identity, at its core, this is about a girl who is or becomes unbalanced, and once she comes unhinged, becomes a violent character from a Fritz Lang noir. The penultimate scene is transfixing, but the entire film is beautifully shot, tautly edited and exceptionally stylish and intelligent without calling attention to itself. As usual, Chabrol begins with a noir thriller and casual plot and transforms these elements into something else. Though not a common video, it is available on tape; please see it.
Review of Les Biches
