La femme infidèle

In Versailles, the upper-class Hélène (Stéphane Audran) and Charles Desvallees (Michel Bouquet) live a boring and detached life in their comfortable house, and their only common interest is their beloved son Michel. Every other day, Hélène commutes to Paris and Charles suspects that she might be cheating on him. He hires a private eye and a couple of days later, his suspicion is confirmed. The investigator tells him that Hélène is having a love affair with the writer Victor Pégala (Maurice Ronet) and delivers a picture of her lover with his address to him. Charles visits Victor in his apartment in Paris and introduces himself as Hélène's husband; Charles lures him saying that he has an agreement with his wife that tells details of her encounters. Out of the blue, Charles hits Victor's head with a statue and kills him. Then he dumps the body in a dirty lake and comes back home. Soon, detectives Duval (Michel Duchaussoy) and Gobet (Guy Marly) interview Hélène explaining that Victor is missing and her name is in his address book. When Hélène finds the picture of Victor in the pocket of Charles's jacket, she destroys the evidence and learns that her husband loves her. But the police inspectors are coming to their house again to talk to Charles.

"La Femme Infidèle" a.k.a. "The Unfaithful Wife", is another magnificent thriller by the master of suspense Claude Chabrol. The story of a couple with a routine life lacking passion and sex that is revitalized by the adultery of the wife and the murder of her lover by her husband is sort of ironical and tragic. The open conclusion is left to the interpretation of the viewer and is also a trademark of Chabrol. In 2002, Adrian Lyne remade this film without the ambiguity of the original film and including an inexistent moral dilemma, as the usual pitiful practice of Hollywood industry. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Mulher Infiél" ("Unfaithful Woman")

Note: On 04 December 2024, I saw this film again.