Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Swindle Blu-ray Movie Review

Les grifters.

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.

It’s interesting to contrast the approaches that various films involving con artists have taken. As commentators Wade Major and Andy Klein mention in the supplement included with The Swindle, films like The Sting present “sleuthing” opportunities for the viewer, where paying attention to who seems to be on the outs or who is perceived to be the victim (or at least underdog) may provide clues to eventual twists. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels trafficked in much the same ambience, though it’s notable that the actual main “sting” turned out to be part of the punchline (at least with regard to the two male con artists). On the other hand, aside from one flashback, The Grifters completely eschewed the cinematic tricks of this particular trade, choosing to focus on character rather than narrative sleight of hand. In some ways The Swindle takes a page out of each of these approaches, though as Klein and Major aver, the film’s very characters keep stating outright that nothing is to be taken at face value and no one is to be trusted, something that may provide as much “information” as to what ultimately happens as anything else.

There’s a peculiar if bracing ebullience to The Swindle, and the fact that Chabrol is so often (rightly or wrongly) compared to Hitchcock might suggest that this film has the same sort of at least intermittently comedic ambience that informed some of Hitch’s most notable romantic suspense efforts like North by Northwest. In terms of general feeling, The Swindle might be better compared to a film that wasn’t directed by Hitchcock but which certainly bore his influence, Stanley Donen’s superb Charade, a comparison perhaps even more accurate due to the fact that the con artists as the center of The Swindle pretend to be other people, even at times within their own relationship.

The two small time grifters at the center of The Swindle are Betty (Isabelle Huppert) and Victor (Michel Serrault), an “odd couple” if ever there were one, though (as indicated above) the actual relationship between the two is never really overtly detailed. Are they lovers? Father and daughter? Something in between (hey, it’s France)? The uncertainty of what exactly is their history with each other provides a somewhat unsettling subtext to the proceedings, as subtle as it often is. The film opens with a rather long set up that details the two taking advantage of a shlub attending a convention, though it’s notable that Victor especially seems to realize that if they stay within certain “limits” in terms of how much they steal, they’re much less likely to run into any kind of problem (this plot point will of course return later in the film in a different context).

When Betty takes a little “vacation” from Victor (it’s already been suggested she doesn’t like the way he just assumes he’s in charge), she ends up finding a “mark” of her own (played by François Cluzet), though Victor is soon involved, albeit a bit unwillingly. It turns out Betty has plans for a major score, a con that’s so audacious it raises fears in the somewhat more reserved Victor. That dialectic plays out as the con actually comes off, but of course has unexpected consequences. That in turn leads to a number of plot dynamics (including one that seems at least a bit reminiscent of Mississippi Mermaid), where it’s not completely clear until the denoument who’s grifting whom and to what ends.

While The Swindle’s plot is never as labyrinthine as The Sting, or indeed even Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the film succeeds due to its lighter than air touch, one that delights in a lot of “business”, especially by Huppert, who evidently finds any given implement within reach necessary to tap on. The film has a really wonderful fizziness, even when things turn potentially dangerous. Huppert, who often appears in Chabrol films as the almost totemic duplicitous female, has a field day with Betty and her alter egos. To Victor may go the spoils, at least for a little while, but The Swindle belongs heart and soul to Betty and Huppert’s depiction of her.

The Swindle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Swindle is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. To my eyes, this is the most generally pleasing looking transfer in the Chabrol set, one helped by some scenic locales and a lot of well lit and/or outdoor scenes where the palette pops quite nicely, especially with regard to the series of red and orange outfits Huppert wears. While grain again occasionally has a bit of chunkiness in darker scenes, it generally resolves naturally and affords the presentation a nicely organic quality. Detail levels are generally fine as well, with elements like some of the fabrics or flyaway hairs on the various wigs Huppert dons in her disguises rendered with good precision.

The Swindle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Swindle features an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 track in the original French, with forced English subtitles. As with the two other films in the Chabrol set, this dialogue heavy film may not offer tons of opportunity for "wow" sonics, but everything is presented very cleanly and clearly. As usual, Matthieu Chabrol's score is a bit on the odd side, but is presented without any problems whatsoever.

The Swindle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Swindle Commentary by Wade Major and Andy Klein


• Interview with François Cluzet by New York Film Festival Director Kent Jones (1080p; 42:32)


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:00)

The Swindle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For all the variety that Chabrol's long and vaunted filmography provides, my hunch is few would ever think of him as a "comedy" director. And yet The Swindle is often quite wonderfully funny, buoyed by two pitch perfect performances by the always entrancing Huppert and the slyly curmudgeonly Serrault. The film's plot may not provide Sting level twists and turns, but Chabrol stages things briskly and this is probably the most beautifully scenic of all three films in this Chabrol set. Technical merits are generally strong, and The Swindle comes Highly recommended.