It's hard not to like clever con games, even when they're violent (The Usual Suspects) or unpleasant (House of Games). They're just about irresistible when they're amusing and surprising (Nine Queens). That we're part of who is being conned is a major part of the pleasure.
Claude Chabrol's The Swindle (Rien ne va Plus) isn't especially violent (well, there's the matter of a spike in a man's eye, but he's dead when we see him), but The Swindle is definitely sophisticated, amusing and very clever. Two of the reasons it works so well and is so satisfying are the lead players, Isabelle Huppert as Betty and Michel Serrault as Victor.
Who are these two? Betty is in her forties, elegant, cool and smart. Victor is in his early seventies, shrewd and clever. They are small-time con artists who work the conventions and upscale gambling houses. Victor sets up the scams and Betty seduces the mark, but only to the point of slipping a mickey into a drink. When the mark passes out in his room, Betty lets Victor in and they take the money...but only enough to make the mark believe later that he may not actually have been robbed. Then off they drive in their big, fully equipped RV back to Paris. We observe all this, during the first third of the film, with growing delight in their humor, their logic and their professionalism. Are they lovers? Are they related...perhaps father and daughter? Are they old friends? Are they just affectionate partners? Because of the chemistry between the two characters and between Huppert and Serrault, we're never quite sure. "Betty, you know I love you, but I can live without you," Victor says at one point.
We instantly like these two, although we'd better be sure where our wallet is if we go out with them some evening. They know their limits and they're careful with their business. But then we notice that Betty may have a plan of her own. When the two meet at Sils Maria, near St. Tropez, to work a dentists' convention, Betty has already developed a relationship with a good-looking, self-assured man who, she tells Victor, is a courier who will be delivering $5 million Swiss francs. He could be the biggest con they've ever attempted...but Betty seems to be working both sides. Victor is showing signs of jealousy. And the man in question is actually a courier for the mob who is planning to leave France with all that money for himself, with Betty on his arm. Who is scamming whom? This three-way puzzle gets complicated.
Chabrol shows us all this with such cool, sophisticated humor that it becomes a great pleasure just to sit back and watch Victor and Betty -- and Chabrol, who also wrote the screenplay -- move the pieces around the board. Huppert and Serrault are such fine actors, and work so well together, that their relationship as Betty and Victor becomes a very satisfying and intriguing part of the story. Victor knows they are stepping out of their league, but he loves a challenge...and he has been good enough to get the better of anyone he considers stupid. We hope that will includes a vicious mob boss and his thugs. Still, as Victor says, "It's easy to swindle someone who thinks they have the upper hand."
The movie ends as it began, with a charming little scam, this time involving just Victor and Betty. May they have a long life together taking advantage of all those foolish marks.
Claude Chabrol's The Swindle (Rien ne va Plus) isn't especially violent (well, there's the matter of a spike in a man's eye, but he's dead when we see him), but The Swindle is definitely sophisticated, amusing and very clever. Two of the reasons it works so well and is so satisfying are the lead players, Isabelle Huppert as Betty and Michel Serrault as Victor.
Who are these two? Betty is in her forties, elegant, cool and smart. Victor is in his early seventies, shrewd and clever. They are small-time con artists who work the conventions and upscale gambling houses. Victor sets up the scams and Betty seduces the mark, but only to the point of slipping a mickey into a drink. When the mark passes out in his room, Betty lets Victor in and they take the money...but only enough to make the mark believe later that he may not actually have been robbed. Then off they drive in their big, fully equipped RV back to Paris. We observe all this, during the first third of the film, with growing delight in their humor, their logic and their professionalism. Are they lovers? Are they related...perhaps father and daughter? Are they old friends? Are they just affectionate partners? Because of the chemistry between the two characters and between Huppert and Serrault, we're never quite sure. "Betty, you know I love you, but I can live without you," Victor says at one point.
We instantly like these two, although we'd better be sure where our wallet is if we go out with them some evening. They know their limits and they're careful with their business. But then we notice that Betty may have a plan of her own. When the two meet at Sils Maria, near St. Tropez, to work a dentists' convention, Betty has already developed a relationship with a good-looking, self-assured man who, she tells Victor, is a courier who will be delivering $5 million Swiss francs. He could be the biggest con they've ever attempted...but Betty seems to be working both sides. Victor is showing signs of jealousy. And the man in question is actually a courier for the mob who is planning to leave France with all that money for himself, with Betty on his arm. Who is scamming whom? This three-way puzzle gets complicated.
Chabrol shows us all this with such cool, sophisticated humor that it becomes a great pleasure just to sit back and watch Victor and Betty -- and Chabrol, who also wrote the screenplay -- move the pieces around the board. Huppert and Serrault are such fine actors, and work so well together, that their relationship as Betty and Victor becomes a very satisfying and intriguing part of the story. Victor knows they are stepping out of their league, but he loves a challenge...and he has been good enough to get the better of anyone he considers stupid. We hope that will includes a vicious mob boss and his thugs. Still, as Victor says, "It's easy to swindle someone who thinks they have the upper hand."
The movie ends as it began, with a charming little scam, this time involving just Victor and Betty. May they have a long life together taking advantage of all those foolish marks.