| Photos (see all 12 | slideshow) | Videos |
| Emmanuelle Béart | ... | Nelly | |
| François Cluzet | ... | Paul Prieur | |
| Nathalie Cardone | ... | Marylin | |
| André Wilms | ... | Doctor Arnoux | |
| Marc Lavoine | ... | Martineau | |
| Christiane Minazzoli | ... | Mme Vernon | |
| Dora Doll | ... | Mme Chabert | |
| Mario David | ... | Duhamel | |
| Jean-Pierre Cassel | ... | M. Vernon | |
| Thomas Chabrol | ... | Julien | |
| Noël Simsolo | ... | M. Chabert | |
| Yves Verhoeven | ... | Young Boy | |
| Amaya Antolin | ... | Mariette | |
| Jean-Claude Barbier | ... | M. Pinoiseau | |
| Claire De Beaumont | ... | Mme Rudemont | |
| Pierre-François Dumeniaud | ... | M. Lenoir | |
| René Gouzenne | ... | M. Ballandieu | |
| Marie-Thérèse Izar | ... | Mme Pinoiseau | |
| Dominique Jambert | ... | Young Woman | |
| Louis De Leotoing d'Anjony | ... | Vincent | |
| Jérôme Le Paulmier | ... | La Fleche | |
| Vincent Mangado | ... | Young Man | |
| Françoise Meyruels | ... | Plump Woman | |
| Laurent Nassiet | ... | Little Boy at the Cafe | |
| Catherine Tacha | ... | Mme Point |
Directed by | |||
| Claude Chabrol | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Claude Chabrol | writer | |
| Henri-Georges Clouzot | 1964 script | |
| José-André Lacour | additional dialogue | |
Produced by | |||
| Marin Karmitz | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Matthieu Chabrol | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Bernard Zitzermann | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Monique Fardoulis | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Emile Ghigo | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Claire Amoureux-Nicole | (decorator) | ||
| Marc Barroyer | (decorator) | ||
| Frédéric Bersani | (decorator) | ||
| Pierre Galliard | (decorator) | ||
| Denis Seiglan | (decorator) | ||
Costume Design by | |||
| Corinne Jorry | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Jean-Pierre Berroyer | .... | makeup artist | |
| Marie Lastennet | .... | makeup artist (as Marie Lastenet-Fournier) | |
| Stéphanie Lemaire | .... | makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Yvon Crenn | .... | production manager | |
| Caroline Lassa | .... | production manager | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Cécile Maistre | .... | assistant director | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Paule Mangenot | .... | costumer | |
| Monique Tourret | .... | costumer | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Florence Poulain | .... | assistant editor | |
| Olivier Rossignol | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Laurent Petitgirard | .... | conductor | |
Other crew | |||
| Aurore Chabrol | .... | script supervisor | |
| Aline Corneille | .... | production administrator | |
| Eva Simonet | .... | press attache | |
| Gisèle Vuillaume | .... | production administrator | |
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| Fatal Attraction | Edvard Munch | The Graduate | L'accompagnatrice | Faustrecht der Freiheit |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Crime section | IMDb France section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Paul, an owner of a lakeside hotel and his naturally flirtatious and beautiful wife, Nelly seems to have it all, yet beneath the rosy facade there lurks a rotting jealousy, eating away inside Paul's unbalanced mind. This is the basic premise of Claude Chabrol's adaptation of Henri-Georges Clouzot 1964 script. The film hinges on two interrelated questions. Was Nell really unfaithful with many men, or was it all in Paul's unbalanced mind? Chabrol projects these anxieties from Paul's point of view,leaving the viewer to judge if there is any substance to Paul's jealousy.
The film is compelling and the acting is excellent, but we never know the real, underlying cause of Paul's frightening descent to madness because Charbol complacently skips through the early years of their marriage within the first six minutes. yet all of the sudden Paul is talking with an inner voice in his head, out of nowhere. This was one of the film's biggest weaknesses and perhaps Clouzot's original story was not "psychological" enough for Chabrol to work through in his usual, thorough fashion.Moreover, we also never know if Nelly really was unfaithful, thus compounding the ambiguity of Paul's jealousy.
Sometimes the direction is deliberately vague in projecting Paul's point of view, blurring the distinction between reality and fantasy. Moreover, the 1960s feel of the script is retained by Chabrol in his modern-day remaking of the values of that era in the early 1990s. as a result, L'enfer is strangely old-fashioned in its portrayal of women and men. The sets and costumes feel anachronistic, esp Nelly and her flirty friend. Only Paul and his doctor seem to exist in the early 1990s.
The open-ended existentialist non-ending,was the only way out for Chabrol and Cluzot, but perhaps by negating the climax, Chabrol did himself a disservice in not resolving the film's many ambiguities. But perhaps that's what Clouzot's intention was. All in all, the film is a celluloid embodiment of Satrte's famous line "Hell is other people".