Just Before Nightfall (Juste avant la nuit) (1971)

86% of users liked it
(238 ratings)

Claude Chabrol, the French filmmaker known for his masterful explorations of crime, suspense, and the darker sides of human nature, directed this drama about a man forced to come to terms with his double life. Charles Masson (Michel Bouquet) is a successful ad man with a loving wife, Helene… More Claude Chabrol, the French filmmaker known for his masterful explorations of crime, suspense, and the darker sides of human nature, directed this drama about a man forced to come to terms with his double life. Charles Masson (Michel Bouquet) is a successful ad man with a loving wife, Helene (Stephane Audran), two children, and a close friendship with his next-door neighbor Francois Tellier (Francois Perier), an architect who designed both of their houses. However, Charles has a secret -- he's been having an affair with Francois's wife Laura (Anna Douking). Charles and Laura share an enthusiasm for sadomasochism, and one night while mock-strangling her during lovemaking, Charles goes too far and kills Laura. At first, Charles seems to get away Scot free -- he's not considered a suspect, and while someone did see him leave the scene of the crime, that person declines to inform the police. But Charles cannot escape his conscience, and he eventually feels compelled to tell both Helene and Francois, neither of whom react with any particular shock or dismay. Juste Avant La Nuit was adapted by Chabrol from a novel of the same name by Edouard Atiyah. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Claude Chabrol
Written By: Claude Chabrol
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1971 Wide
On DVD: Mar 1, 2011
Studio: Pathfinder Home Entertainment

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

Juste avant la nuit is a very clever film. Just as you think you know where the story is going it takes an unexpected alternative route. I think that's what I liked about it, it kind of knocks the cliche you might expect out the water and raises a good question along the way.… More
Juste avant la nuit is a very clever film. Just as you think you know where the story is going it takes an unexpected alternative route. I think that's what I liked about it, it kind of knocks the cliche you might expect out the water and raises a good question along the way. Essentially though, it's strength is the way that it concludes that human nature is irrational and it doesn't always make sense but that is also part of what it is meant to be human in the first place. Many may find it unrewarding but personally it was a breath of fresh air for me (even though it was made in 1971). A must for Claude Chabrol fans.
Stephen M

There's a strange, dreamy aloofness about this film that makes it difficult to invest in emotionally, but it's a phenomenally dry comedy about a murderer's quest for atonement, in the face of bourgeois indifference to his crime. When a sadomasochistic game goes too far,… More
There's a strange, dreamy aloofness about this film that makes it difficult to invest in emotionally, but it's a phenomenally dry comedy about a murderer's quest for atonement, in the face of bourgeois indifference to his crime. When a sadomasochistic game goes too far, Charles, a married man, strangles his lover, the wife of his best friend, and then does battle with his guilty conscience. Though it begins and ends brilliantly, the story does sag in the middle, before Charles' guilt gathers self-destructive momentum, and it suffers from a lack of suspense, attributable to the other characters' apathy toward the crime. "Juste Avante la Nuit" agreeably reunites Michel Bouquet and Stéphane Audran, a couple of years after Chabrol's superb "La Femme Infidèle"; Bouquet is marvellous but Audran isn't really given enough to do this time around, unfortunately. Flawed but fascinating.