The Flower Of Evil
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C- Film: B-
Claude
Chabrol is always referred to as the French Hitchcock and this time, while
watching his 2001 opus The Flower Of
Evil, he has (especially in his last few films) painted a portrait of
undisturbed better French living, then lets disturbing elements slowly enter
the picture. This time, we have some bad
American influences, local politics, sex, a dead body, and the return of the
repressed.
The
casting is convincing and there are nuances throughout that keep getting the
viewer involved in the narrative. This
is, like other such Chabrol efforts, not the straight-out thriller American
audiences would expect, yet it is not a stuffy Masterpiece Theater installment.
Chabrol takes the Caroline Ellacheff/Louise L. Lambrichs screenplay and
lets it slowly unfold as the dark rotten underside slowly opens (almost
literally) like a flower until various symbolisms come together to make their
point.
That is
as much the point as is the revelations and solution of the film, which feels
like Chabrol is repeating himself a bit, but the craftsmanship and style helps
to off-set these misgivings enough that fans will want to check it out. It amazes me that Chabrol is still so capable
after all these years, while hundreds of young new filmmakers are
hacks-on-arrival.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.66 X 1 image is within a 16 X 9 ratio and does not
look bad, but there are still some detail limits. Despite this, Eduardo Serra, A.F.C. – A.S.C.,
does some fine composition throughout that keeps the viewer watching. There is also an interesting attention to the
color palette. The Dolby Digital 5.1
AC-3 mix outdoes the 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic version, offering comparatively
warmer and clearer dialogue, as well as more naturalistic sound at the right
sound level.
Extras are
few, including a family tree of the characters, weblinks, the U.S. theatrical trailer and a brief
photo gallery.
Another
way to look at this is to think of it as the French take on the dysfunctional
family who does not know it. They do
function well enough to be part of higher society, but that turns out not to
mean as much as some would think it was.
In all that, this is smart, layered filmmaking that can get away with
more problems than most. The Flower Of Evil is worth your time.
- Nicholas Sheffo
