BLOOD RELATIVES

Canada/France, 1977, 95 minutes, Colour.
Donald Sutherland, Audrey Landry, Lisa Langlois, Laurent Malet.
Directed by Claude Chabrol.

Ed Mc Bain (Evan Hunter) is a popular police thriller storyteller, filmed by Akiro Kurosawa in High and Low and a vehicle for Burt Reynolds, Fuzz. Claude Chabrol, in an English language Canadian production, uses his mystery outline but draws it into his now well established world of crime and guilt, responsibility and transference of responsibility. It works well with Donald Sutherland successfully low key as the detective and a good (though unfortunately dubbed) performance by a young cast who carry the mystery and Stephane Audran as the mother. Donald Pleasence and David Hemmings add persuasive cameos. A grim, ugly sex crime examined intelligently, highlighting the dichotomy between appearance and reality and complexity of motives.

1. An entertaining and interesting thriller, murder mystery? A police drama with the focus on the detective and methods? A psychological drama of mixed motivation, violence and hatred? The blending of all three aspects?

2. Claude Chabrol’s work and interests? His work with his wife Stephane Audran? The importance of his many explorations of guilt, responsibility? Appearances and reality? Acceptance and transference of guilt?

3. The Canadian production? Locations, the city, the countryside? The atmosphere of homes and offices in the city? The affluent, the poor? The police of the city? Precincts, investigations and techniques?

4. Ed Mc Bain and his popular American approach to police investigations? The adaptation by a French film maker interested in psychological drama and morals and conscience? The balance between mystery and psychological drama? How was this embodied in the presentation of Detective Carelli and his style?

5. How well did the screenplay work, and the structure of the film: the audience's introduction to the city, the committing of the crime, Patricia and her desperate calling of the police, the introduction to the police and the police work? Patricia's initial lie and then her telling the truth? Audience deception? Carelli's belief of Patricia? The processes of the enquiry? The building up of a direct narrative? Discovery of the diary and the change to flashbacks? The unfolding of the truth? The comparison of the diary story with what had been previously established? The cumulative effect of the conveying of the plot and the telling of the truth? The narrative progression and the psychological understanding? The focusing on the police work and the final establishing of guilt? Chabrol's exploration of personalities and understanding motives?

6. The title and its ironies? The relationship of Muriel with both Patricia and Andy? With her uncle and aunt? The focus on blood and its significance in term of the crime and the visual presentation of blood?

7. Audience interest in and response to sex crimes? In the world of fiction, reality? Ugliness, violence, the perversion of sexuality? Perverse psychology? Audience identification with the world of crime and the sick psyche?

8. The crime itself, the credits sequence and the focus on the rain, the alleyway, the building, Muriel and Patricia, Patricia's screaming? The various stories about the attacker, about Andy as the attacker? The derivation for Patricia's stories and the elements? The finale of the truth?

9. The portrait of Patricia: her running to the police station, her behaviour during the interrogation, the nature of her responses in detail? Her age, background, attractiveness? Seeing her within the context of her family? Her gruff father, her slightly hysterical mother, Andy and his emotionalism? The emotional tension at the funeral? Her reaction at the line-up of the suspects and identification? Her admitting that she had lied and the telling of the truth? Her going to her grandmother? How did she emerge from the diary? Her presence in the home, the change from a demure young attractive girl to a rather knowing adolescent, the sharing of the room and the experiences with Muriel? Her attitude towards Andy? Jealousy, prying on Muriel? Her attitude towards the diary and reading it? Her overhearing Andy's humiliation of Muriel? The ingredients for her story? The final interrogation by Carelli and her breakdown? A skilful portrayal of a character? How well was the audience prepared for the truth? How was this affected by Carelli's gentle treatment of Patricia and the seeking of the truth?

10. The portrait of a detective in Carelli? His personality, skills, manner of interrogation, investigation? The short sequence of walking with his teenage daughter in the park and the link with Patricia as guilty teenager? His courtesy with Patricia, trying to get the truth from her? The importance of the line-up and the interrogation of Doniac? His observation of Andrew at the funeral, interrogation of him, arrest? His liaison with his assistants? The discussions with Armstrong? The visit to the house, the various discussions with Mrs Lowrey and trying to understand the truth? Mr Lowrey? His relationship with his wife and the domestic quiet of these sequences? The progress of the investigation prior to the discovery of the diary? His ingenuity in getting the diary found? His reading it and the effect that it had on him? Reading it at how and the reaction of his wife? The final confrontation of Patricia?

11. The film's constant attention to the details of police detection and investigation? The blood, the finding of the knife, the interrogations, the diary etc.?

12. The various suspects and their possibilities - the alcoholic and its eventuating that he was a wife-basher? Doniac and the intensity of the interrogation? Donald Pleasence's interpretation? The visit to Jean and the implications of the old man with the young girl?

13. Armstrong as the suave businessman? In himself, at work? As revealed by the diary? Suave manner, arranging phone calls and outings for Muriel? Fear?

14. The emergence of Muriel at the second part of the film? Audience response to her murder, suspects, Andrew? How did she cow alive through the diary? The artificiality of the device, the psychological revelation? Her parents? Mrs Lowrey and her care for her, Mr Lowrey and his eyeing her? Hints of incestuous attitudes? Her friendship with Patricia? Work, Armstrong? The building up of the relationship with Andrew? The detailed building up of the love and obsession? The possibilities of physical consummation, their being prevented, the way that they happened? The house, the boat? The preoccupation about being blood relatives, the taboo, scriptural background, the priest saying dispensation was possible? Muriel's changing attitude with Armstrong? Andrew's response? The sexual humiliation and degradation? Writing everything in the diary? As giving the information for her death? A portrait of a young girl, a victim?

15. Andy and his presence? Relationship with his mother, grief at the funeral? Suspicions when Patricia told the truth about him, his arrest? Did the audience believe him in the interrogation? As he emerged from the diary? Love and obsession for Muriel, meting her at work, the sexual culmination? The move to violence and jealousy? The fellatio? The man that he might have been? The relationship with Patricia and her obsession with him? As a substitute for Muriel?

16. The portrait of Mrs Lowrey and her attitude to the family, her drinking? The father and his gruffness and sexual attitudes? The portrait of the house, happiness and unhappiness? The significance of the sequence from Muriel's diary and the camera withdrawing from the family and its unhappiness?

17. The emergence of the motives for the murder? Family, love, obsessions, relationships? Perversity and violence?

18. What finally was the audience left with: a satisfactory thriller, insight into police methods, a psychological study?