Juste avant la nuit

English title: Just Before Nightfall

Genre: psychological drama  

With: Michel Bouquet (Charles Masson), Anna Douking (Laura Tellier), Stéphane Audran (Hélène Masson), François Périer (François Tellier), Jean Carmet (Jeannot, the bartender), Dominique Zardi (Dominique Prince), Henri Attal (Cavanna), Clelia Matania (Charles’s mother)

Director: Claude Chabrol

Screenplay: Claude Chabrol, from a novel by Édouard Atiyah

Release: 1971

Studio: Cinegai S.p.A., Les Films de la Boétie

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.2/10





Masson, My Friend, You Have Some Explaining to Do





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Story-line: while indulging his mistress Laura with some kinky role-playing, Charles Masson accidentally strangles her.

Pluses: Michel Bouquet’s excellent performance (note his amazing emotional range), fine support from Stéphane Audran, François Périer and cast, a well-written, intriguing and efficient screenplay that touches upon serious issues while slipping in a few outrageously funny moments, accomplished direction, sober cinematography, those curiously modern decors, a frosty musical score and a surprising denouement that gives meaning to the movie’s apparently humdrum title. 

Minuses: one reviewer has criticized this film as ‟lurid” but, aside from the opening sequence which does require sleaze, JUSTE AVANT LA NUIT is a straightforward drama. As with other psychological studies, give this one 40 minutes or so to build a compelling, increasingly tense narrative.   

Comments: one might think that JUSTE AVANT LA NUIT will be a letdown after Laura’s death in the opening sequence but it has much more to show for itself. Watching Masson cope with his tragic blunder will keep you busy enough for the duration. Will he feel remorseful? lie his way out of it? confess? return to his happy life as if nothing had happened? If you’ve seen LA FEMME INFIDÈLE, another psychology-driven gem from Claude Chabrol, you will appreciate this cold, low-key movie even more.     





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