This Man Must Die

A particularly difficult film to comment upon without giving away vital plot elements but it has to be one of the director's finest. It has the suspense he can work so well, it has the the French bourgeoisie at their worst, it has gentle eroticism and sudden brutality.

We also have here superb story telling combined with high emotional content and a continuous switchback ride of twist and turns, even though we, seemingly,have the whole plot of the film placed openly before us within minutes of the opening credits.

Meticulously directed, there is not a superfluous scene, nor even a superfluous gesture. It is pure riveting cinema from start to finish

Great performances, great camera-work, great Chabrol.

If there is a Gallic director who likes to surprise his admirers with new tricks,unexpected methods and iconoclastic stance,it is new wave master Claude Chabrol.There have been many bright moments in his illustrious career when he has made films for them which could only be appreciated by a sharp brain and attentive eyes.Que la bête meure is a hard to classify film which is neither a thriller nor a run of the mill revenge drama.It is a film which plays with all leading conventions of these two genres.This man must die starts well with the depiction of a reckless accident.It is quite possible that this might induce inattentive viewers to regard it as a revenge drama.This is not the case as viewers are quickly caught in a maze of crucial dramatic scenes that have direct bearing on film's progress.Caroline Cellier and Michel Duchaussoy perform well as lovers whose relationship has a lot of bearing on this film's progress.Chabrol is known for avoiding a not so happy end for his film.This is the reason why "This man must die" will prepare you to imagine your own type of end in order to do injustice to the concept of happy end of this film.

A car runs over the boy Michel Thenier while he is crossing the street in his calm village in Bretane, and the hit and run driver flees without any witness. His grieving father Charles Thenier (Michel Duchaussoy) becomes obsessed to find the reckless driver that murdered his only son to kill him and spends his time writing his diary and running his own investigation in garages and junkyards. One day, he learns by chance that the actress Helene Lanson (Caroline Cellier) might be the responsible for the death of Michel. Charles travels to Paris posing as screenplay writer, introduces himself using his pseudonym of Marc Andrieux and seduces Helene with the intention of killing her. However, Helene tells that her family is from Brittany and her brother-in-law Paul Decourt (Jean Yanne) owns a garage in Quimper. When Helene invites Charles to travel to her sister's house to know her family, Charles finds that Paul is a despicable man with a disease in the intestine, hated by his family and his own son Phillippe Decourt (Marc Di Napoli) wants to kill him.

"Que la Bête Meure" a.k.a. "This Man Must Die" is an ambiguous story of hatred and revenge with an open conclusion where it is not clear who really killed the detestable Paul Decourt. The odyssey of Charles to find the killer proves that he is a manipulative and Machiavellian man; therefore, it is impossible to conclude what is his final destination. One point that intrigues me and maybe a clue to the truth is when Paul calls Marc by Charles, when they are preparing to sail. Neither Claude Chabrol nor Charles Thenier would be capable to committing such mistake and then in the boat Charles tells to Paul that the entertaining is just beginning. This sequence corroborates with the deduction of the detective and associated to the profile of Charles that should be incapable to neglect his journal may indicate that Phillippe is really innocent, but I cannot assure that my interpretation is correct. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Besta Deve Morrer" ("The Beast Must Die")

Note: On 04 December 2024, I saw this film again.

This is a very fine psychologic thriller in some mellow tones. The story is simple : a boy gets killed by a mad car driver and his father wants to find the man to kill him. We know, from the start, that there can be two finale : the father kills the man, or he changes his mind. But Chabrol makes us think that it can have another finale... Or another? Or perhaps this one? Not at all! We never thought of the real finale. This is brillant, well written and directed movie. Very fine acting by Duchaussoy and Yanne.

"Que la bête meure " belongs to Chabrol's golden era.This is one of his most brilliant achievements,and,nevertheless,he would do even better with the next one"le boucher",with,again,Jean Yanne,an actor,who,before ,was featured in generally mediocre commercial movies.In his two films with Chabrol ,Yanne will show skills we would never thought of.Both characters,in "que la bete..." and "le boucher" are monsters;but monsters of different kinds:in "le boucher",Yanne is pitiful,moving,a product of the war (in Algeria?)On the other hand,in "Que la bête...",he's a hateful vulgar petit bourgeois brute.Compare the way Chabrol introduces his characters:in "le boucher",Popaul appears in the first scene,the wedding banquet,and he seems a good guy.In "Que la bête...",Chabrol does not show his face during Duchaussoy's son death on the road.When finally,the father discovers the reckless driver's house,we meet first his scared family circle.Then we hear his formidable voice.All happens like in a fairy tale:Tom Thumb entering the ogre's den.Perhaps Chabrol's most terrifying character, he holds up to ridicule his wife's attempt at poetry and he cannot understand his son ,a frail,sensitive,and clever teenager. The plot will take shape quickly,and after this story of sound and fury,the last pictures brings the audience some relief.Note,in both films,"le boucher" and "Que la bête.." ,the presence of water in these last pictures.