Rien ne va plus

The smalltime swindlers Elizabeth "Betty" (Isabelle Huppert) and Victor (Michel Serrault) make a living by cheating naive people. After swindling a salesman of garden tools in the French Riviera, Betty travels on vacation alone and schedules a next scheme in ten days in a congress for dentists in Sils Maria. However, Betty arrives at the hotel with Maurice Biagini (François Cluzet), who is the treasurer of a company that is traveling cuffed to a wallet with five-million francs. She tells Victor that she has the intentions of stealing his money and Victor plots a scheme using the naivety of Maurice. But soon the con artists have to face the dangerous associates of Maurice.

"Rien ne va plus" is a highly entertaining thriller by Claude Chabrol. I saw this movie for the first time in the late 90's and I liked it more than today. There are flaws along the story that I did not pay attention to when I watched it long time ago. But if the viewer does not think too much, he or she will like the plot points in this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Negócios à Parte" ("Business Aside")

Note: On 09 January 2025, I saw this film again.

Betty (Isabelle Huppert) and Victor (Michel Serrault) are an unusual pair of con artists. She, in her forties, and he, in his seventies, share a relationship that defies definition: are they friends, lovers, or perhaps relatives? The ambiguity of their bond, brilliantly portrayed by the actors, lingers throughout the film, even up to its conclusion.

Specializing in small-time cons, Betty and Victor take on a far more ambitious scheme when she seduces Maurice (François Cluzet), a corporate treasurer, to steal 5 million Swiss francs. What begins as a meticulously planned heist soon spirals out of control as they become entangled in money laundering, plunging them into a perilous situation unlike anything they've faced before.

With sharp black humor, Claude Chabrol masterfully blends comedy and thriller elements, creating an atmosphere that shifts seamlessly between levity and suspense. The influence of cinematic greats like Lubitsch and Hitchcock is evident in the interplay of lighthearted moments with darker, more sinister undertones.

As the plot thickens, the audience is drawn into a web of intrigue where nothing is as it seems. The intricacies of the central con leave one wondering if Betty and Victor are not only deceiving their mark but also each other, sustaining a thrilling sense of unpredictability throughout.

Although Betty (Isabelle Huppert, who was 43-years-old when the film was released) calls Victor (Michel Serrault, who was 69) "Papa" on occasion in this smooth and restrained thriller from Claude Chabrol, he is not her father by any means. The term is merely one of ironic affection. What they are are modern "gypsies" living on the fringes of society plying their ancient trade. Perhaps they were lovers in the past. Clearly they are a team, dependent upon one another. In particular what these small time con artists do is go to conventions, medical, dental, farm equipment salesman conventions, find a target and con the poor dupe out of some of his money.

Some. The film begins at a roulette table on the French Riviera with Betty stringing along a not entirely bright lawnmower salesman whom she invites for a drink. She slips some knockout drops into his drink and quickly invites him up to his room where, after he is out cold, Victor follows. They take some of his money. Victor insists on always playing it safe and using a rather strange but plausible psychology (which will figure later in the movie) of making the man think that perhaps he wasn't robbed, since if she had intended to rob him, would she have only taken part of the money out of his wallet? They do forge his signature on a check, but he will only find out about that later, and indeed might not be sure about how that happened.

So this is a small time con. Trouble begins for our vagabond thieves when Betty meets the CFO of a big corporation who is transferring five million Swiss francs in cash out of the country. She senses the chance for a big score, and after the mark falls in love with her (she thinks) she brings Victor into the scheme. With some tricky exchanges of the metal suitcase containing the money Betty and Victor end up over their heads in some very hot water.

The plot is a little on the unlikely side, as thriller plots tend to be, but the thing to keep in mind is the idea of taking only PART of the money. This is what fools the bad bad guys (as opposed to the good bad guys who are our vagabond duo, Betty and Victor).

Any movie starring the incomparable Isabelle Huppert (La Pianiste 2001; Merci pour le chocolat 2000; La dentelliere 1977, and many more ) is worth seeing and any movie directed by Claude Chabrol (Une affair de femmes 1988; Betty 1992; La ceremonie 1995, etc.) will have something of interest in it. Add a fine performance by Serrault, one of the great veterans of the French cinema, and "Rien ne va plus" is definitely worth seeing. However the role played by Huppert does not challenge her and Chabrol's more famous films (some of them also starring Huppert) are decidedly more interesting.

But see this for the lighthearted chemistry between Huppert who is sublimely fetching and Serrault who is clearly past the age of any pretension. Such a quasi-Platonic union based on the love that still warms the embers in a dying fire has become almost a staple of directors past their prime. See Claude Sautet's Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud (1995) which also featured Serrault for another example.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

"Rien ne va plus" is literally 'Mere nothing no more' or 'Trifle never again'. The con game is the premise, the relationship is the anchor. Go in with no expectations and be an observer to Chabrol's "The Swindle". Sit back, relax and enjoy the pairing of Isabelle Huppert and Michel Serrault -- they look so comfortable together.

He's a pro, definitely knows his con "art" and scam skills. She's a quick learner, a smart protégée. The age difference does not matter. The real relationship? Why, let it be. They are at ease with each other. Papa and daughter, business partners, lovers, whatever the relationship, they understand each other, know each other's quirks and habits, and yes, complement each other's life. C'est si bon. C'est la vie.

Chabrol does not hit you over the head with what he's trying to convey, nor give us over the top violent actions or sequences. It's like a French cuisine meal well served, no hurriedness, with connoisseur wine accompanied. We're first introduced to how the pair works together, their con artistry in low-key fashion and not overly ambitious about the profit they reap. In fact, Victor (Serrault) is a decent man, he makes sure they do not clean out the target's wallet.

Victor is alert and protective. He lets Betty (Huppert) have free rein. "You know I love you and I can live without you," he said to her when she wants to take a break -- going away for a few days before the next project. Actually Betty is trying to do a "project" on her own -- perhaps to thank Victor for taking care of her and providing the opportunities for her steady flow of income. Perhaps she wants to see how good she can be -- without him by her side all the time. Perhaps she wants to know she can make it on her own -- and bring him income vs. the usual trifle way.

Somehow Betty needed Victor's help, and unexpectedly, the pair is no longer small time con artists -- it's big time, "the administration" is involved! She meant well. He knows. He appreciates. He's attached and tries to save both of them out of the mess. Victor is such an artist at this. As we follow the pair, we eventually can tell what Victor's moves and thinking could be. We guess with him. We're afraid for him, and her -- ah, he would have.but, he would not.. Yes, that's what he would do. But, would he? Would she?

It's vintage Chabrol indeed. I remember my first Chabrol film was "The Does" (Les Biches) 1968. I noticed Isabelle Huppert when she was in "The Lacemaker" 1977 followed by "Violette" 1978 (another Chabrol). Michel Serrault played opposite Emmanuelle Beart in "Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud" -- what a gem! These French films are all pretty much for mature audience consumption. You will be able to appreciate if you can take French pace in stride.

What a viewer makes of a film very much depends on the expectations that he or she brings to it. I had previously seen five other films directed by Claude Chabrol and considered all of them impressive. "Rien ne va plus" came as something of a disappointment. Though recognisably the work of the same director, it struck me as markedly inferior in terms of atmosphere and depth - which is not to say that it is a bad film by general standards. The quality of the acting is very high. Isabelle Huppert (Betty) is always extremely watchable, and Michel Serrault (Victor) is equally subtle. Their characters may not be the most credible of thieves, but the first part of the film, showing their practised hotel-based criminal double-act, is polished and amusing. After this, my enjoyment of the film steadily diminished. That none-too-original plot device, a briefcase full of banknotes, comes to the fore. (Criminal 'capers' have never much appealed to me.) When the action then moves to Guadeloupe, it turns into a run-of-the-mill gangster film (a genre that I like even less). I found myself waiting for the end - and, when it arrived, it might have come from Hollywood.

Viewers who do not view it with my preconceptions and aversions may certainly enjoy "Rien ne va plus". It is undoubtedly a well-made film. In future, though, when I recommend the works of Chabrol, while drawing attention to "Les biches", "Que le bete meure", and "Merci pour le chocolat", I may add the proviso: 'But I wouldn't bother with "Rien ne va plus". It's nothing very special in comparison'.