L' enfer Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

L' enfer Blu-ray Movie Review

Marriage hell.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 21, 2017

Note: This film is available as part of 3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol.

That famously French laissez faire attitude toward interrelationships, often but not always with regard to marriage, gets a rather surprising workout in the trio of offerings on tap in 3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol. As I’ve discussed in some previous reviews of Chabrol’s work, Chabrol has often seemed a little like a square peg attempting to fit into round holes, at least as defined by others. He never totally conformed to at least some of the nascent ideas of the nouvelle vague despite often being branded as a fellow traveler with the likes of Godard and Truffaut. Similarly, while Chabrol has often been compared at least in passing to Alfred Hitchcock, and while many of Chabrol’s films at least skirt with thriller or mystery elements, and many of them display the same kind of rationalist approach to often troubling psychological elements that Hitch’s films can, there are nonetheless very few set pieces in Chabrol films that match the sheer technical audacity that is on display in some of Hitchcock’s best remembered work. Two of the three films in this set play at least tangentially off of various dysfunctions in married relationships, while the third, The Swindle (original French title Rien ne va plus), rather cheekily refuses to overtly specify what kind of relationship its focal pair has with each other, at least in terms of personal intimacy. All three films have elements of suspense, but as with many of Chabrol’s films, the emphasis isn’t necessarily on a central mystery but rather how characters respond to irrational elements, either in their own psyches or impinging on them from external sources.

In my review of Betty, also included in the Chabrol set that features L’Enfer, I mentioned purgatory and the metaphysical ambience of Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. Those references could equally, and maybe even more appropriately, be applied to L’Enfer, though of course in this particular instance purgatory is in fact hell, as evidenced by the more traditional translation of the French title than its given English version Torment. Those not familiar with either Dante’s supposed “journey” with Virgil or Sartre’s famous play may have already heard of the actual source material which inspired this interesting Chabrol entry, Henri- Georges Clouzot’s abandoned Inferno, an unfinished film which in any form had been one of the most sought after Holy Grails by cineastes, a quest which was finally kinda sorta realized with the fascinating (and highly recommended) release Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno. As commentators Wade Major and Andy Klein, there’s a kind of interesting subtext here in any case, since Clouzot was often compared to Alfred Hitchcock, and of course Chabrol himself famously wrote about Hitchcock in his early career as a critic and later found himself lumped in with the iconic director, at least with regard to some of his output.

From a plotting standpoint, some curmudgeons might argue there’s barely enough content to fill one film, let alone two, but L’Enfer takes the basic premise of Clouzot’s original formulation, positing a married couple named Nelly (Emmanuelle Béart) and Paul (François Cluzet) who run a scenic and seemingly thriving hotel. Before the actual plot dynamics click in, Chabrol is already documenting some problems suffered by Paul, who can’t get sufficient sleep due to the kind of weird intrusion of fighter jets constantly flying over the hotel, and who is further frustrated sexually as so many parents of young children are when the kids’ needs take precedence over the adults’.

The sound design of the film gives clues beyond the airplane noises that everything isn’t quite right inside Paul’s addled head, and in fact as the minimal plot begins unfolding, it becomes more and more obvious that he is becoming increasingly dissociative. This psychological roiling displays mostly but not exclusively as irrational jealousy of Nelly, and Paul becomes convinced that his unbelievably gorgeous wife is playing the field. Making this situation potentially more dangerous is the fact that Nelly actually seems pleased her husband reacts so strongly to seeing her with other men, but later this element almost tips over into psychological warfare, with Nelly seeming to delight in tormenting her husband with her flirtatious tendencies.

Clouzot rather famously wanted to treat this story in a quasi-hallucinogenic way, inventing a number of interesting lighting and optical effects that still exist, at least in fragments, as evidenced by the above linked documentary. Chabrol is more of a clear headed rationalist, at least in his presentational proclivities. While he indulges in certain bells and whistles (and/or voices in Paul’s head), Chabrol’s approach is less that of a participant and more of an observer, though even this differentiation isn’t entirely accurate, since it’s clear that the film’s point of view is resolutely that of Paul’s.

Despite the often mundane seeming presentation at play in L’Enfer, there’s an appropriately dreamlike (or perhaps more accurately nightmarish) ambience, especially in the film’s final half hour, when things come perilously close to tipping over into Grand Guignol territory. The film’s now famous closing text card suggests a Boolean loop of experience from which there in indeed no exit, like a vision from which it’s impossible to extricate oneself. Performances are top notch and Chabrol is rather stylish in his own somewhat reserved way (less showy than Clouzot, but probably no less effective).

L' enfer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

L'Enfer is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. While this presentation has some of the same palette deficits that are on display in Betty, generally speaking this is a more pleasing looking presentation, especially when the film ventures out of doors around the scenic hotel location. Interior scenes can still show occasional splotchiness in grain resolution, but as with Betty, it's a transitory and not very distracting issue. There's a slight bluish quality to several scenes that affects elements like skin tones but which never really materially affects fine detail. General detail levels are quite good throughout the transfer, offering some luscious looks at the staggeringly beautiful Béart.

L' enfer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

L'Enfer's LPCM 2.0 French track (with forced English subtitles) provides much the same listening experience that Betty does, though the inventive sound design with regard to Paul's interior monologues (dialogues?) offers a bit more variety to the proceedings. Straight dialogue scenes are rendered cleanly, and as is expected in many Chabrol films, Matthieu Chabrol's patently odd music also sounds fine if weirdly anachronistic a lot of the time.

L' enfer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Torment Commentary by Wade Major and Andy Klein


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:24)

L' enfer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cineastes with a taste for French cinema have a wonderful opportunity for a fascinating double feature, starting with Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno and then moving on to this "completion" of Clouzot's abandoned film. L'Enfer builds its tension incredibly effectively, though some of the psychological games, especially those of Nelly, may not receive enough development due to the film's main focus on Paul's unraveling psyche. Technical merits are generally strong, and L'Enfer comes Highly recommended.