First, this film is very sloppy in its narrative. The exposition is very poor, so you never can tell - for instance - how far the provincial town where the action takes place is from Paris. This matters because while one character is allegedly flying over from Paris, another one can go to Paris and back within two hours. Just as the location is vague, so are the characters. Compare the characters of La Rupture to those in variously successful similar movies of the same period (Marnie - Rosemary's Baby - Secret Ceremony - the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - the Bride Wore Black, the Naked Kiss), and you'll realize that you know nothing about the characters in the Chabrol film. Stéphane Audran has enormous star quality, but her acting is flat and uninvolving (Constance Towers or Tippi Hedren are like Katina Paxinou compared to Audran). The rest of the cast chews up the scenery shamelessly to disguise the plot gaps. And don't tell me about the critique of French bourgeoisie. There is more of that in Peau d'Ane. La Rupture may have been well received at the time, but it is a dated and lazy piece of movie-making.
Review of The Breach
