L'Enfer

One of the best films I've ever seen.


This don't Be-art   August 22, 2003
 20 out of 31 found this review helpful

The film: "What a horrible little film Claude Chabrol has made!" [I translate loosely.] The French reviews must have gone something like this. When the critics of Cahiers du Cinema gave the nod of approval to an "auteur", it was nearly impossible for him to fall from grace. In re-watching "l'Enfer", I can at least speak for myself in saying that he wrote himself off of the list of directors in whom I place some trust... and into the shadowy realm of "has-been"s. I would be surprised if the critics felt differently.

Why do I despise this film so intensely? First and foremost, none of it is in the least bit original... or believable. Paul and Nelly meet one afternoon at his newly purchased hotel, as by chance. He looks her over, clowns around a bit, etc. Flash forward to wedding. And so on. There is no relationship developed between the two, nor any reason for their love to exist at all. I can forgive one such transgression in the first five minutes of a film, but come on! I mean... to call this plot Swiss cheese does cows everywhere a helluva disservice! Paul's reasons for doubting his wife's fidelity are based on loose, circumstantial evidence, yet, somehow, this kind father and doting husband slips into a personal hell of his own creation: INSANE jealousy! Is Chabrol kidding with this crap? I can't believe that this is the same director who gave us such an honest, compelling vision of psychosis 25 years earlier in "Les Bonnes Femmes". What could have happened over that time for to have regressed to creating this imbecilic, one-sided portrait of obsession that is nearly as silly a cautionary tale as "Reefer Madness".

It is almost pointless to evaluate the performances of the cast, given the poor quality of the script (not to mention editing that manifestly shows that Chabrol's cinematic "language" never made it out of the 1960s)... but I will. Emmanuelle Beart is superb, as she usually is, as a bouncy, innocently flirtacious young wife and later as a battered, defeated prisoner of the evil Paul. Her talents are utterly wasted here, for, as one of the garage mechanics said in Stephen King's "Christine", "You can't polish a turd." Francois Cluzet delivers an over-the-top Paul that ranks up there with Eric Roberts' performance in "Star 80" (though not nearly as convincing.) Sure, he's got ample reason to be insecure... but the dizzying heights to which he carries his all-consuming distrust simply aren't warranted by the scanty clues of his cuckolding. The rest of the cast are fine in their nearly invisible roles.

Final words on the film: If this is supposed to be "mature" work, it is little wonder that Chabrol has been excluded from winning nearly every major award. I am frankly shocked that the great Clouzot wrote the majority of this screenplay. I'd like to think that Chabrol's adaptation is at fault, but perhaps there was a reason that Clouzot never shot it. In sum, the only "hell" is sitting through this mindless exercise in misogyny.

The DVD: Possibly the worst transfer in my 1000+ DVD collection. Here are some general adjectives: dull, muted, washed out, grainy, pixellated (wish I'd been when I was watching it!), dark... and riddled with artifacts, flashes and even skips! No... not just DVD skips, of which there were plenty, but ACTUAL GAPS IN THE FILM! What kinda busted, to' up print did Fox Lorber use for this transfer? It looks worse than the VHS. I even have a suspicion that a VHS tape was the source, and an over-rented one at that. Oh... and let me hurl one last insult at this disgraceful, cocktail coaster of a DVD: When I said "dark" before, I meant that the night scenes were so black at times that my television threatened to collapse on itself and suck me through a black hole in to the land of bad cinema. But, no worries... I got there on foot by the end of the film!

My verdict: A must-not see. A waste of money. I'd be afraid to sell this kind of garbage on eBay and would pity the fool who'd buy it (as I foolishly did.) I'm tempted to write out the 101 best uses for this DVD, though I'd exceed Amazon's 1000 word limit. The bottom line is... If you like Claude Chabrol, see "Les Biches" or "Les Bonnes Femmes" or "Le Boucher"... or nearly any of his pre-1970 films. If you like Emmanuelle Beart, see "Manon des Souces" or "La Belle Noiseuse" (and by the way... If you want to see her in the nude, you're out of luck in "l'Enfer", you dirty rascal!) And if you like Francois Cluzet, I seriously question whether you recognize good acting, despite the fact that he's appeared in several solid films. [Question: Do you also think that Jean-Pierre Leaud was a fine performer after "The 400 Blows", when he "learned" to "act", simply because he starred in "Porcile" and "Last Tango in Paris"?]

I'm going to sprinkle myself with holy water after this abomination and turn in for the night. If you choose to buy this film, heedless of my words, you may want to invite your local exorcist over to watch it with you.


Can't decide one way or the other.   May 26, 2003
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

For the first half hour of L'Enfer, and with an urgent pace, Chabrol shows every reason and indication that Nelly is cheating on Paul. But after that, it becomes frusterating and hard to know for sure.

Ultimately, Paul was dillusional. But the first 30 minutes still makes me wonder. I guess it's up to you to decide how faithful Nelly is and what really happens at the end.


Emmanuelle' Beart:   November 13, 2001
 3 out of 9 found this review helpful

hey I agree with most here: however, with one exception. Emmanuelle' Beart, is one of the most extrodinere' performers to come around in a long time. Shes not only beautiful, but talented. She took this ho hum movie, and made it so realistic. Lighten up, critics.. its only a movie.