Having recently seen two other Chabrol films starring his then wife Stephane Audran I thought this slightly earlier one would be fairly similar and I was as right as I was wrong. Certainly the trademarks are on hand - stylish settings, photography, behaviour verging on the obsessive etc - but this time Chabrol throws sexual deviation into the mix at a time when it wasn't as commonplace as it was to become shortly afterwards. A lot depends on Why in more senses than one given that the second female character answers to that name, but why DOES Audran leave a ridiculously large tip for a pavement artist, why does Why allow herself to be picked up and ultimately of course why do we care. Completing the menage a trois is the ever reliable Jean-Louis Trintignant and whilst it's far from a waste of time I won't be so eager to watch it again as I will Le Boucher or La Femme Infidele.
Review of Les Biches
