VIOLETTE NOZIERE

France, 1977, 122 minutes, Colour.
Isabelle Huppert, Stephane Audran, Jean Carmet.
Directed by Claude Chabrol.

Claude Chabrol has, for years, delved (often like Hitchcock whom he studied and wrote of) into dramas of crime, guilt, responsibility and transference of guilt. Now he takes a celebrated real crime of the 1930s, giving an interesting period flavour and musical score, and does the same expertly and intriguingly, and tantalises us with the factual outcome.

Once again his wife Stephane Audran is moving as Violette’s mother, but supports a continually amazing Isabelle Huppert, surely one of the best actresses of her time, who invests Violette with schizophrenic memory, mystery, vacant meaningful expressions, dispassionate evil and girlish innocence. A fine drama of its time, crime melodrama and challenge to our feelings and judgments.


1. A good film, interesting? As a biography, crime film, presentation of its period? The blend of these ingredients for popular interest, entertainment, study?

2. The reputation of the director: and his continued interest in crime, motives, character and questions of conscience? Theme of right and wrong, good and evil? His use of facts and embroidering a fictional story about them? Crime, character, the consequences of crime? The importance on the information given at the end about Violette? The factual consequences of these incidents?

3. The importance of the period for placing Violette? the political talk in the cafes, Mussolini and Hitler and fascism, socialist France, anti-socialist France, the anti-communist feeling? The importance of the look of the thirties, the rich and the poor, fashions, wealth? The importance of the atmospheric score and the tone that it gave? As background for crime, murderous motivation, as symbolising Violette?

4. How did the film present Violette herself as a symbol of the period, as representing France between the wars, schizophrenic, victimised, victimising? Flirting with evil, appearances of good? The experience of the war and change and judgment made? is this how the writer and the director saw Violette?

5. The importance of the Paris settings, the use of exteriors especially of the house, the streets, the cafe? The interiors especially of Violette's home, the bars, her special hotel? The prison and the interior, the outside with the people gathering and protesting? the court sequence? The importance of the Paris streets? The opening with the bars outside Violette's home? The prison ending?
Paris imprisoned, Violette and prison? The guilt or non-guilt of Paris and of Violette?

6. The importance of the structure, the use of the flashbacks and audience involvement in Violette's story, her mind and her memory? The fact that the flashbacks were Violette's own memories? How objective was her memory, how subjective? The audience learning that the framework of the initial memories was immediately after the murder of her parents and then her return to clear away the evidence? The importance of the flashbacks from prison - ranging to the murder itself and beyond to her childhood and infancy? The inclination of her mind, the fragmented nature of her mind? How well could the audience piece together the events of Violette's life and her actions? How we1l could she piece them together?

7. Audience response to Violette - as fashionable in her first appearance, yet these her only clothes? He made-up appearance, reality of her age? The two different lives she led? Pensiveness on the tram, the urgency of her change? Her secrets? Presence in the bar, her girlfriend, their girlish talk, prostitute talk? the money she gained, the rings? her hotel set-up, the room, the
people that she took there, the negro musician, Jean? The mirrror and her contemplating herself? The photos of the film stars? The importance of the incident with the man who picked her up and her getting out? What did she want from this kind of life? What drove her to it? The effect on her morals, mind? Being immersed in this world? the response of the people who saw her there, the negro and her flirting, the maid and her continued attention, having her clothes at the end? Violette as living within her own world and having no interest in the outside, for example in politics?

8. Her relationship with Jean? The significance of her seeing him as a sexual symbol in the dream? Her watching him in the cafe, accepting his friendship, the sexual encounters? Their meetings? the irony of the audience knowing of Jean’s plans and his getting of money from Violette and his using, her? The importance of the emotions between them, especially the effect on Violette? her love, her giving him money, the ring? her disappointmenl at his going away and not corresponding? his hostility? At the end and her decision to save him from prosecution? What overall effect did he have on her?

9. The contrast with Violette at home, her girlish face and childlike appearance, seeing her change so often, her private room, her stealth and wariness, as a schoolgirl , her innocent look and yet her secrets? Her desk, study, her letters, the meals, games with her father, overhearing her mother and father making love? Her hold over her real father? Was it real that she could live in these two worlds so completely?

10. The portrait of her father - his railway work, age, his enjoyment of the games with her, caressing her? the truth about his role? Love for his wife? Did he merit the lies she told about him after his death? His believing her about the poison, the violence of his death? What was her attitude towards him, the motives for killing him? How well did he love Violette?

11. The portrait of her mother and the special bonds between the two? The quality of their love? Her mother's fussing over her, possessing her? Her love for her husband? The importance of the lovemaking scene and their dialogue, their attitudes towards Violette and her age and innocence? their use of the cloth and Violette’s use of it later? Sharing the secrets with Violette, especially the letters from her father? Her tending her, washing her? Her reaction to the news about the venereal disease? Her being poisoned and his being used as a test? Why did Violette not kill her? The importance of Violette’s imagining her mother haunting her? Her mother’s reaction to the poisoning, her vengeance, her reaction to Jean with the ring, her placing her veil over her face at the possible revelation of the truth? Her change of heart lo help her daughter? How strongly drawn a character of this kind of woman, mother?

12. The importance of the venereal disease - the effect on Violette, the doctor telling her, her reaction, her letting her: parents know and her reaction to their telling her? Her father caring for her, her mother’s severe reaction? Her leading them on about the medicine? Their beliefs about the hereditary nature of the disease? The irony of the background of Violette making up a sister for the doctor, her lies about going with her, the deathly dinner being in preparation for her?

13. Why were the flashbacks about the murders from her prison cell? And not from the tram? How did the deaths affect her in prison? Her impassive face, her cellmate listening and her reaction?

14. Why so many lies? Her reaction to being found out, her quick defence when caught, her ability to make up plausible excuses? Why did she have to lie to people, why rob her parents? The sexual compulsions? Her sexual encounter after the murders? Her escape from the police and the interrogation, her wandering the city and the irony of making the dale with the young man and being caught? Did she want to get caught?

15. Audience response to the set-up - being arrested? Was it obvious, her turning up, her being arrested? Her reaction to the young man with the paper and denying her identity?

16. The character of the cellmate and her listening to Violette, sympathy, sharing the meals, talking, justifying her behaviour, the sewing,?

17. The significance of the childhood memories - her memory of her father, grandmother, as a little girl, as a teenage girl? Her mother? The place of these flashbacks from prison - did they explain anything about her?

18. The importance of the police interrogations with her mother? Her mother's vengeful action? The background of her real father and his financial support of Violette and Violette's using him? The mother not wanting a revelation?

19. The dramatic build-up with the judge's interviews, especially with the mother, the doctor, with Jean?

20. The social comment in showing the people on the streets, public opinion, the newspaper, the ballad and its lyrics and the irony of the film ending with Violette singing this?

21. The justice of the verdict, her reaction and the blackout (and the previous blackout with her father discovering her in the bathroom), her appeal?

22. How much responsibility did Violette have for the deaths, how much guilt? The importance of the final information about her rehabilitation and future life? Was this credible? The transforming effect of her violent deed and arrest and imprisonment? Would she be able to start a new life? How did this affect audience insight into her character and her behaviour in the thirties and the judgment of her? the possibility of a criminal being redeemed and changing?