Much has been said about the plot and the actors of the film, I won't go into it in more details, just give a few personal impressions.
First of all, the film has excellent actors in the main roles, Romy Schneider, Rod Steiger and Jean Rochefort being absolutely brilliant, every single one in very memorable roles. However, there are also, inexplicably, weak actors such as Paolo Giusti (one of my previous commentators has already stated this correctly) which lead me to believe that Claude Chabrol really was not up to his great level in this film. Whatever it was, something is definitely wrong, the camera angles and shots, the story, how the plot is linked - you watch the film, it sucks you in, but leaves you with a strange feeling of unfilled expectations! Secondly, what buggers me very much indeed is the horrible mixture of dubbed and non-dubbed voices. I have had the chance of watching the French and English version on DVD and caught myself switching from one to the other for getting the respective voices in their original. Yes, and another commentator here said rightly, Rod Steiger spoke English, of course. And *lots* of his acting power and prowess went into *how* he spoke! Unforgettable, how, at the beginning of the film, he plays the "impaired", soon-to-be-betrayed husband of a too beautiful wife. Romy Schneider spoke both languages in the English and the French version. The other French actors, as the great Jean Rochefort in the memorable court room scene (hilarious) spoke French to great advantage. And Paolo Giusti is speaking I don't know what, absolutely impossible to figure out, he sound horrible in whatever version you listen to. You see, it's a complete mixture. Very disturbing, very un-French. All cinephiles know the French cinema to excel in the art of direct sound recording and captivating the original actor's voices marvelously. Why on Earth did Claude Chabrol make such a mess here? Why not have chosen all-French actors and make another one of his great films? This one isn't one, even it it entertains you, in a certain, unfulfilled way.
First of all, the film has excellent actors in the main roles, Romy Schneider, Rod Steiger and Jean Rochefort being absolutely brilliant, every single one in very memorable roles. However, there are also, inexplicably, weak actors such as Paolo Giusti (one of my previous commentators has already stated this correctly) which lead me to believe that Claude Chabrol really was not up to his great level in this film. Whatever it was, something is definitely wrong, the camera angles and shots, the story, how the plot is linked - you watch the film, it sucks you in, but leaves you with a strange feeling of unfilled expectations! Secondly, what buggers me very much indeed is the horrible mixture of dubbed and non-dubbed voices. I have had the chance of watching the French and English version on DVD and caught myself switching from one to the other for getting the respective voices in their original. Yes, and another commentator here said rightly, Rod Steiger spoke English, of course. And *lots* of his acting power and prowess went into *how* he spoke! Unforgettable, how, at the beginning of the film, he plays the "impaired", soon-to-be-betrayed husband of a too beautiful wife. Romy Schneider spoke both languages in the English and the French version. The other French actors, as the great Jean Rochefort in the memorable court room scene (hilarious) spoke French to great advantage. And Paolo Giusti is speaking I don't know what, absolutely impossible to figure out, he sound horrible in whatever version you listen to. You see, it's a complete mixture. Very disturbing, very un-French. All cinephiles know the French cinema to excel in the art of direct sound recording and captivating the original actor's voices marvelously. Why on Earth did Claude Chabrol make such a mess here? Why not have chosen all-French actors and make another one of his great films? This one isn't one, even it it entertains you, in a certain, unfulfilled way.