This Man Must Die

Charles Thenier's young son is killed in a hit-and-run and the driver is never found. Charles decides to find the man himself and writes his whole plan in a journal. The person he traces is Paul Decourt, and to get near him he starts a relationship with Paul's sister-in-law. When Paul finds the journal the situation reverses. Paul dies of poisoning; Charles confesses that he is the killer, but Paul's son Philippe takes the blame to protect him. Claude Chabrol directed, from Cecil Day-Lewis's 1938 novel The Beast Must Die. Michel Duchaussoy plays Charles and Jean Yanne plays Paul, with Caroline Cellier in the cast. Jean Rabier photographed it and Pierre Jansen wrote the score. It opened in France on 5 September 1969 and did not reach New York until 20 October 1970. Roger Ebert gave it four stars and called it a macabre, bizarre study of the hazards of revenge. The New York Times reviewer counted it among the best new movies while noting a drift toward sentimentality in Chabrol's approach. Who it is for: viewers who like cold revenge stories and Chabrol's portraits of provincial life. Who it is not for: anyone wanting clear justice. The film ends by deliberately blurring who carries the guilt.