Review of Comedy of Power (2006) by Sean H — 08 Aug 2008

A SHARP thriller loosely based on actual events, A Comedy Of Power is another intelligent drama from legendary French director Claude Chabrol.

Isabelle Huppert stars as the incorruptible Judge Jeanne Charmant-Killman, in charge of investigating corruption and fraud at a giant company with links to the French government.

As she starts to topple criminals at the very highest levels of industry and politics, however, she also increases the danger to herself. Protected around the clock by bodyguards, she realises the extent of her ever-increasing power just as her personal life start to crack under the pressure.

Huppert is as excellent as ever and supporting performances - especially from Francois Berleand as disgraced company chief executive Michel Humeau - are stunning. Chabrol's precise direction grips but avoids all sensationalism in a style perhaps best described as lightly Hitchcockian. His portrayal of Charman-Killman's increasingly precarious relationship with her successful doctor husband is both fascinating and realistic.

For British viewers, however, most of the satirical nuances will be lost. The film is inspired by the scandal of French oil company Elf Aquitaine and examining magistrate Eva Joly's subsequent investigation (Chabrol cheekily provides a jokey variant on the old "Any resemblance to any persons..." disclaimer at the beginning of the film). The oil moguls managed to spend 200 million francs of embezzled money on political favours, mistresses, jewellery, fine art, villas and apartments.

Of course, if you're French, you'll know all this and who and what all the characters and events are riffing on. If not, for all its virtues, A Comedy Of Power is as frustrating and alienating as eavesdropping on a private joke.