La Fleur Du Mal (aka The Flower Of Evil) (2003)

The matriarch (Nathalie Baye) of an outwardly perfect family upper class family decides to run for mayor. But in the midst of her campaign, a leaflet is distributed accusing her family of collaboration with the Nazis, adultery, profiteering and more. Skeletons begin to emerge sowing discord and distrust as the family begins to unravel. Directed by Claude Chabrol (LES BICHES), this minor entry in Chabrol's filmography takes awhile to get its rhythm going. The movie starts with a camera pan that eventually ends on a dead body before we go into flashback mode. Chabrol's fascination with the moral rot of the upper class bourgeoisie continues but by the time he gets to the core, our interest has begun to wane. With the exception of the old Aunt (Suzanne Flon giving a lovely performance), I found the characters too shallow to invest much interest in. I don't mean to sound too harsh because I liked it well enough. It's just disappointing. With Benoit Magimel, Bernard Le Coq, Melanie Doutey, Henri Attal and Thomas Chabrol (the director's son).