Les Biches is only the fourth film I've seen from 'The French Hitchcock' Claude Chabrol, but already the great director is becoming one of my favourites. Chabrol clearly likes to keep his films under wraps and deliver stories in a succinct manner, and Les Biches is another example of that; as on the surface the film is a rather tame thriller focusing on the ambiguous relationship between two (possible) lesbians, but underneath it's a strange and interesting character study exploring an unorthodox three way relationship. The first character we are introduced to is Frédérique; a seemingly wealthy woman who meets a street painter who simply calls herself "Why". Frédérique gives the painter money before asking her if she will accompany her back to her lavish villa. The street painter agrees and goes back to the house, where we meet the strange gay couple Robèque and Riais. Soon enough, an architect named Paul Thomas imposes on the girls' relationship, first romancing Why and later being seduced by Frédérique before moving into the villa...
The film makes homosexuality one of its main themes, which must have been fairly daring considering the time in which the film was released. The film stars two beautiful women - Stéphane Audran (Chabrol's wife at the time) and Jacqueline Sassard. Both women look great and their chemistry together provided one of the main reasons I enjoyed this film so much. The actresses' beauty is matched by Chabrol's cinematography as the great director ensures that everything about this film is stunning and a joy to behold. As is always the case with Chabrol, the film is extremely high class and the production values and acting are exquisite. It has to be said that the movie doesn't have a great deal of plot, and this has lead to a number of viewers labelling the film 'boring', but for me the visuals and implications of the plot were enough to ensure that Les Biches is always interesting. The film is not so much of a thriller as the likes of Blood Relatives and Le Boucher; there's not a great deal of suspense and it's not difficult to work out where the story is going. However, as a drama the film works magnificently well and Les Biches does come recommended.
The film makes homosexuality one of its main themes, which must have been fairly daring considering the time in which the film was released. The film stars two beautiful women - Stéphane Audran (Chabrol's wife at the time) and Jacqueline Sassard. Both women look great and their chemistry together provided one of the main reasons I enjoyed this film so much. The actresses' beauty is matched by Chabrol's cinematography as the great director ensures that everything about this film is stunning and a joy to behold. As is always the case with Chabrol, the film is extremely high class and the production values and acting are exquisite. It has to be said that the movie doesn't have a great deal of plot, and this has lead to a number of viewers labelling the film 'boring', but for me the visuals and implications of the plot were enough to ensure that Les Biches is always interesting. The film is not so much of a thriller as the likes of Blood Relatives and Le Boucher; there's not a great deal of suspense and it's not difficult to work out where the story is going. However, as a drama the film works magnificently well and Les Biches does come recommended.