Le Boucher (1970)

 Claude Chabrol's "Le Boucher"

After watching Claude Chabrol's 1970 film "Le Boucher," (along with some of his previous efforts - "Le Beau Serge" and "Les Cousins") I always becomes so swept away by his ability to pull you into an intimate relationship, only to twist that relationship into a swirling array of directions. However, I can never seem to get a grasp on Chabrol's themes. They arise and fall as simultaneously as our perspectives shift and change. Chabrol is a master at undermining a perceived tone and an expected result.

"Le Boucher" centers on a school teacher named Helene, who befriends the local butcher. As their relationship grows more intimate, the town begins to have a string of unsolved murders. Once Helene learns the truth, things grow dire. 

I won't give away the details of the film's finale, but it behooves me to say that it made the entire film worthwhile. There were moments throughout where I was unsure if I was really interested in these characters or gave a care about what was happening around them. It felt too 'on the nose' to really be that engaging. However, in true Chabrol fashion, he took a standard 'thriller' format and shifted gears into the 'psychological.' 

The film's ending makes me question the whole context of them and what it really signifies. The film that I thought I was watching never really existed. Sure, the truth about who was doing the killing was plain and obvious and wasn't really a surprise. But, I feel as though Chabrol warps the point by creating a weird sense of complexity to the intentionality. The morals aren't warped necessarily, just our ability to empathize and care.

As much as the film surprised me, I wouldn't say its a preferred work by the filmmaker. However, Chabrol certainly plays on the thriller stereotypes and makes them an advantage. Once we become comfortable in knowing what kind of film we're dealing with, he toys with our comfortability in that certainty.