In the country kitchen of the wealthy Lelièvre family (this surname literally means "the hare", the Lelièvres are therefore the hares), hangs a painting of a dead and trussed up hare. This early image does not bode well. As the movie progresses, the new servant of the household and her friend at the post office gradually have their class-based resentment stoked and a confrontation with the upper crust Lelièvres becomes increasingly likely. In part this is brewed by the warped and traumatized minds of the underlings, in part the snobbery of the haughty Lelièvres, and in part by misunderstanding.
The movie is very observant. Different registers, both emotional and verbal exist to communicate between the different classes, behaviours taught in no classroom, the safe languages of obsequiousness and baby talk. The Lelièvres feast whilst the postmistress gleans girolles. The servant gorges on gibberish from her goggle box, whilst the Lelièvres enjoy an opera on tv as a family, with an old bilingual libretto anthology on their laps, a neat visual metaphor for cultural capital. The rapaciousness of the employer is shown when the servant Sophie is required to do extra work for a birthday party when she has a pre-existing commitment. She does very well, but is still criticized. The rich are acquisitive, of people, services, land, money and objects.
One of the most incisive observations regards charitable donations. The postmistress observes that the vast majority of donations are old, superfluous, worn out and broken, the well off see donating as more convenient than using garbage cans, and get to feel virtuous for doing so. People rarely if ever buy to donate. Hand me downs enforce a hierarchy.
Chabrol had a good eye for the invisible. Here he exposes the workings of the class system, operating with a fine cast. Events end as expected. Madness and injustice breed madness and injustice. Huppert and Bonnaire get the juicy roles and don't disappoint.
The movie is very observant. Different registers, both emotional and verbal exist to communicate between the different classes, behaviours taught in no classroom, the safe languages of obsequiousness and baby talk. The Lelièvres feast whilst the postmistress gleans girolles. The servant gorges on gibberish from her goggle box, whilst the Lelièvres enjoy an opera on tv as a family, with an old bilingual libretto anthology on their laps, a neat visual metaphor for cultural capital. The rapaciousness of the employer is shown when the servant Sophie is required to do extra work for a birthday party when she has a pre-existing commitment. She does very well, but is still criticized. The rich are acquisitive, of people, services, land, money and objects.
One of the most incisive observations regards charitable donations. The postmistress observes that the vast majority of donations are old, superfluous, worn out and broken, the well off see donating as more convenient than using garbage cans, and get to feel virtuous for doing so. People rarely if ever buy to donate. Hand me downs enforce a hierarchy.
Chabrol had a good eye for the invisible. Here he exposes the workings of the class system, operating with a fine cast. Events end as expected. Madness and injustice breed madness and injustice. Huppert and Bonnaire get the juicy roles and don't disappoint.