User reviews

I love a line in this movie from the executive Masson, he said he had his house designed by a modern architect to avoid the sclerosis of becoming bourgeois. Thats exactly what I think when I see modernist furniture and architecture. It's made for future people, dysfunction-free, productive, and clairvoyant. Only that's not quite how it works out. Here we have post-bourgeois people, who find themselves, like all the best swimmers, more likely to drown. They try to reinvent morality and instead trespass into treacherous areas which the ignorant forbid themselves through superstition, in the process jettisoning the wisdom of ages.

Yes this is a Chabrol film but don't believe it's a thriller, what we have here is more along the lines of Bergman. The police in this film are portrayed as merely being obnoxious, a nuisance to everyone involved in the murder. We are constantly waiting for the detective Cavanna to disappear from the screen.

We have a view here of people whom I'm sure Matthew Barney would call almost crystalline, devoid of potentiality. The film is so awful in this respect that it almost made me glad that we only tend to live eighty years. The tired-eyed men in this movie are weighed down with disillusion and regret, waiting for the end, their successes mere dust. Just before the night, indeed. Gone are their protean days, gone are the Alpheuses of youth. It's not so much a murder thriller as an essay into death. Masson, Tellier et al would welcome the cool breeze whispering through the cypresses on the island of the dead. One startling shot from a train shows Paris in twilight, looking grubby and ready for death itself.

I think more than anything this film is about mortality. Nowhere do we see hot blood in this film, only palsy and the damp skin of the pneumonic, the husband of the mudered woman even comforts the murderer. One part of the movie that I find astonishing is when Masson sees his employee of many many years, who has just been caught embezzling by the police and is now in custody. Masson looks at him with compassion, but the old man, who is now in a sense freer than he ever has been, looks him straight in the eye and tells him to screw himself. Masks off and a bonfire of the vanities.

This film is concentrated sulphuric acid, for more of the same see Les Bonnes Femmes and Les Cousins.

"Just Before Nightfall" is a slow, grim, gritty, no-nonsense film. It seems as if director Claude Chabrol is saying to the viewer, "Look, don't expect to be charmed or pleased by this film -- that would be pointless for everyone. I'm interested in one thing, and one thing only: the theme of the story. Anything else would be a pointless distraction." If the viewer is willing to go along with Chabrol for the ride, Just Before Nightfall is a rich and moving film.

"Just Before Nightfall" is not a whodunnit, or even a why-dunnit. "It" -- a murder -- kind of just happened, possibly accidentally, and the question facing the characters is: what shall we do about it, now? The lead character knows he is guilty, and his desire to conceal his guilt slowly changes to a desire to confess his guilt. In this, he is like the character of Raskolnikov in Dostoevski's "Crime and Punishment". More astonishing is how his friends and family respond to his confession: they are eager to forgive and forget, to deny and bury the past. And this, in turn, creates an even worse situation for the anti-hero.

1971 was dark moment, politically and culturally. Many films of that year feel like they are suffering from a hangover from the 60s: the time of exuberant exploration and new possibilities has passed, and in its place is a cosmic-scale exhaustion and hopelessness. You see this kind of industrial-strength bleakness in US films like "Five Easy Pieces", "Carnal Knowledge", "Two-Lane Blacktop". If you enjoy 70s bleakness, or, you are interested in guilt and forgiveness, or, you want to watch a director go after his message with an intensely single-minded focus -- then "Just Before Nightfall" is well worth your time.

An extraordinary film. Chabrol turns his keen eye and powers of observation to middle-class morality and psychological torment, never losing his rich sense of humor. The characters are complex and their motivations not always easy to discern. Chabrol views them caustically but also with compassion. It is part of a series of several terrific films he made between 1968 and 1973. Most fans of Chabrol consider this his pre-eminent period, and this film one of his very best.

Though coming from Chabrol's major phase (1967-1975), this was only recently released on DVD – and exclusively on R2 at that!; still, I had missed an incongruous Saturday morning broadcast of the film on Italian TV several years back. Ironically, even if it can lay a claim to being among the director's best-regarded efforts, I admit to having found such lesser-known Chabrol titles as DEATH RITE (1976) and ALICE OR THE LAST ESCAPADE (1977) – both of which immediately preceded this viewing – more readily satisfying…though the fact that JUST BEFORE NIGHTFALL treads typically bourgeois i.e. inherently mundane territory, whereas the others were fanciful (thus essentially lightweight), may have had more to do with this than anything else!

Actually, my main quibble with the film is its overlength (due to the protagonist's wallowing in self-pity, this being basically an update of Dostoyevsky's literary classic "Crime And Punishment", during the last act); in a way, it is also a reversal of Chabrol's own LA FEMME INFIDELE (1969), with the very same stars (Michel Bouquet and Stephane Audran) no less. In the latter she is initially oblivious – and eventually forgiving – of his having learnt about her infidelity and murdered the other man, while here it is he who has a clandestine affair, kills the woman concerned and then confesses to both the wife and his best friend (husband of the deceased and played by Francois Perier), both of whom try to convince the guilt-stricken hero thereafter not to give himself up to the Police (she even taking extreme measures to this end)! Audran, still at the height of her statuesque beauty, is a particular delight and she went on to win a BAFTA award for it (shared for the actress' famously unruffled turn in that Luis Bunuel masterpiece THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE [1972]).

A subplot, then, depicts a comparable folly to the protagonist's – where the elderly and meek-looking cashier in Bouquet's firm embezzles funds to sustain his unlikely romance with a much younger woman (not that the perennially exhausted hero bore the looks of a Casanova himself but, at least, his sluttish mistress is clearly shown to be into sado-masochism). Ultimately, such ironic yet provocative (indeed quasi-surrealist) psychological nuances, are what make Chabrol's work so intriguing and quietly rewarding – more so, in fact, than perhaps any other of the "Nouvelle Vague" film-makers.

Possibly the best film Chabrol made, along with 'La femme Infidele' and 'Le boucher'. An intense psychological study and not really a thriller this was the first Chabrol film I ever watched. At first I was left confused and disappointed, however this powerful and moving film slowly revealed it's hidden beauty with each viewing.

This film more than any other of Chabrol's has entered my consciousness, Michael Bouquet's acting is very memorable and Stephanie Audran is astonishingly beautiful. There is no hint of mawkishness or sentimentality and one is left moved and glad of so poignant a masterpiece.

A man murders his best friend's wife. Guilt leads him to confess to the crime to both his friend and his wife. They in turn forgive him his act of homicide, betrayal and infidelity. This unconditional forgiveness and lack of reproach drives him to despair.

Despite the early scenes suggesting that this could be a thriller, as is the way with Claude Chabrol's other films, the narrative of Juste Avant la Nuit goes off in an entirely different direction. It uses it's opening crime not as a springboard to a suspenseful story but as a way of examining the human condition. The murder almost becomes irrelevant as we progress through the film and witness the central character become more and more depressed as a result of the love and understanding he is shown by the people who should ordinarily hate him for the ultimate betrayal he has shown them. Like other Chabrol films, this one depicts a melancholic and tragic villain. The audience are asked again to empathize with the criminal and try to understand his angst. It's morally complex and doesn't give out any answers at all. If you're looking for a traditional crime thriller this is not it. How much you enjoy this depends on how interesting you find it's central questions. I'm on the fence.

This is the most morally exquisite of Chabrol's many explorations of the human condition. Guilt, forgiveness, revenge coexist and mutually triumph. Many of us assume these three moral stances are mutually incompatible. Chabrol balances them against each other and then fuses them together. The actors reveal their inner dilemmas with gestures more than words. Deep intentions run across surface motives. And the final gesture of this compelling film casts all that went before into another, deeper level. Of course, no deed is as simple as it seems. But few appreciate as Chabrol does here that our all too common morally mixed motives can continue to coexist to the grave. No evil deed is ever straightforward, but neither are the best ones.

Had Chabrol filmed this in the style of Bergman, this film would be a Criterion Classic. But filmed as a thriller, it has sadly failed to gain the audience and admiration it so richly deserves. It is a philosophical triumph!

Just Before Nightfall is another Claude Chabrol film that focuses on infidelity and again it's an intriguing drama and an excellent exploration of the human condition. The film starts with a murder - but this is clearly not the point of the film as the murder happens right at the start and it's off-screen; the main focus of this film is the guilt felt by the lead character and the whole film focuses on that and it's effect on the character as well as all the people in his life. The film is based on a novel by Edouard Atiyah, and the basic plot is rather simple and really serves only as a base for the central focus of the film. The plot focuses on Charles Masson. Charles is having an affair with Laura, the wife of his friend François. The two practises S&M with one another and Charles' life is thrown into turmoil when he accidentally strangles Laura to death. He later learns that Laura's marriage with François was not the average marriage as both had other partners, but he is still consumed by guilt and it impacts his life with his beautiful wife Hélène and their three children.

As is always the case with Chabrol's thrillers, this one is not heavy on action, suspense and tension; but that is more than made up for by the central character study. All the main characters are developed well and believable. The main character, Charles, is certainly the most interesting of the piece; the way that guilt overtakes him provides a different take on the common murderer theme and makes for a very interesting watch. As ever with Chabrol films, the production values are excellent and the performances are superb. The central cast of Michel Bouquet, François Périer and the beautiful Stéphane Audran are all perfectly placed in their roles and provide the film with a strong backbone. The film doesn't move particularly quickly but Chabrol always keeps things interesting by keeping the focus on the lead characters and the central situation. Overall, Just Before Nightfall is an intriguing and thoughtful film handling the burden of guilt and I would not hesitate to name this film as one of Chabrol's very best alongside the likes of This Man Must Die, Le Boucher and Wedding in Blood.

The characterization and build up to the climax is what convinced me to be a part of this enthralling movie. Adapting to the role was a bit challenging. But never once I felt hard as the director was extremely specific in what he wants from me. It pushed me to give my best, which is why I consider this as my career best performance.

This is the third Chabrol movie i watch. I liked a lot the "L'enfer" and i found the "La cérémonie" mediocre.

This is somewhere in the middle. I mean, i liked it, it was interesting and i could never guess where it goes : There are no big twists here but there are some unexpected turns. I didn't even imagine it would end like it ended. But still, this is not an exciting movie. Definitely this is not a crime/thriller movie, this is more of a drama. A character study. Pace is good, acting is even better, kinda dry overall but i was not alienated. I understood these characters even though i could never behave like they did, both "villains" and victims. Overall, a fine movie that most of cinephiles will enjoy. Just don't expect action and thrills.

I felt this movie was very slow moving the first 40 minutes until I thought I recognized parts of the story. Then i checked and can see it is based on the same novel. But I do find the pain and the anguish is better felt in the Japanese version . Well for me this movie should be a skip, but it may be okay if you have not seen the other version. I cannot say if it is more true to the novel either. But anyway I do not understand people describe this as a masterpiece. I neither found the acting or the dialog very inspiring here.

Fascinating view of middle class degeneracy in two married couples, with the less hypocritical paying to keep the whole facade going. Masochism, murder, desire for absolution, self-sacrifice. The acting and characterisation keep surprising. Like all Chabrol films it links to others in his filmography and will benefit from more viewings.

This is one of the few satisfying movies Chabrol made in his long career. Here he has a convincing story that does not require complicated plot zig-zags. It is a simple story of adultery leading to death and the cover-up that follows. The acting is almost all fine--Francois Perier as the widower who expresses little sorrow for his dead wife is especially convincing; he's really acting, not just shrugging his way through a scene. Michel Bouquet has to make his guilt-ridden character (could have been created by Dostoievsky) interesting and sympathetic and mostly he does.

Couldn't this be issued on DVD?

Coming from a particularly rich phase of Claude Chabrol's output this is decidedly one of his most absorbing and mesmerising films. Whether by premeditation or accident a man kills his lover who happens to be the wife of his best friend. He cannot live with his guilt and we have two brilliantly executed scenes in which he confesses all to both his wife and the friend! Their reactions are quite frankly as astonishing as they are unexpected. Even though there is no danger of his ever being implicated in the murder he decides for his own sanity to turn himself in....... This film raises the question as to when complacency becomes complicity. Although complacency is not exactly a prerogative of the bourgeoisie Chabrol has never hidden his disdain for that particular class so here he is able to kill two birds with one stone. Michel Bouquet and Stephane Audran again play husband and wife as they did in 'Femme Infidele' and Francois Perier the friend. Their performances are exemplary with Audran picking up a BAFTA. Bouquet as always achieves the most by doing the least. Chabrol has adapted the novel of Edouard Atiyah and has the tried and trusted Jean Rabier behind the camera with Pierre Jansen as composer. This is a gripping and deeply disquieting film the final scene of which is unforgettable.

Another great film by Claude Chabrol, this time on the theme of remorse. Fantastic performance by Michel Bouquet as a tortured man. Stephane Audran also at top level, as usual. The "moral" I take from the film is this: we make mistakes and hurt others. But they even forgive us. The great drama is that we can forgive ourselves.

This poor excuse for a morality tale has no depth to it. "Just Before Nightfall," a deceptive title, leads one to think it's a suspenseful thriller. Instead it turns out to be dull, slow, full of banal dialog, poor acting, clumsy direction and zero charisma from its ever-present lead, Michel Bouquet. And that "modern" house is a real cheesefest - tacky in the extreme. If you're looking for a tale in the same vein as "Crime and Punishment," take a look at Woody Allen's masterpiece, "Match Point."

The actors, the themes, the story are familiar for Claude Chabrol public. The murder represents only pretext for a version of older Rodion Raskolnikoff . The levels of guilt and fear and loneliness and need to be punished the attitude about the thief and the realism of a not plausible, at the first sigh, story, are the virtues of this film of seductive ins and clothes, about a character who seems predictable and showing, scene by scene, the entire universe grace of art of Michel Bouquet and admirable definitions of marriage , in fair terms, A film remembering Ingmar Bergman universe, remaining, in profound sense, a beautiful Chabrol.