Response V- A Girl Cut in Two

Aside from "A Girl Cut in Two," the only other Chabrol film I have seen is "Les Cousins."I have not seen a great deal of Chabrol films, but I would have to say that he is probably my favorite French director. Even though there is a gap of about fifty or more years between the two films, I can still see some similarities between "Les Cousins" and "A Girl Cut in Two." The thing that stands out at me most with these two films is Chabrol's lack of compassion for his characters. I wouldn't say Chabrol hates his characters, but I wouldn't say he particularly likes them either. He does not allow his viewers to empathize with his characters at all.

There were three central characters in this film: Paul, the author, and Gabrielle. I must say that I was not empathetic towards any of these characters. Paul is spoiled and rich. He lives off of his dead father's money and is not entirely sane. The author is an old man who cheats on his wife and forces his lover Gabrielle to engage in some perverted, obscene sexual practices. Finally, there is Gabrielle who is a naive young girl. The only problem I have with her is that I think she is stupid since she allows people like the author to take advantage of her. After acquiring a general idea of what these characters are like, one can effortlessly see that these are not characters one would empathize with. I would have to admit this aspect of the film is what made it so enjoyable for me. Usually there is at least one character that viewers identify themselves with and they become deeply engaged in that characters story. With Chabrol's style I was able to avoid identifying myself with any characters thereby maintaining a separation from reality and the world within the film.

Another interesting aspect of this film was the absence of several important scenes. For example, Chabrol excludes the scene where Gabrielle is forced to have sex with several men, the scene where Gabrielle breaks down after the author changes his locks, and the scene where Paul is tried. Chabrol intentionally excluded these scenes so we could analyse the situation in the film in a different manner. By leaving out those key scenes, the audience is forced to step back and really realize how sick and twisted the situation is and how deranged the characters really are.

This film creates suspense both during the viewing of the film and afterwards as well. I went to go see this film with my girlfriend and we did not entirely understand the scene where Gabrielle and the author go to that club. After the author and Gabrielle begin climbing the stairs of the club the scene ends. Until we discovered that Gabrielle was forced to have sex with several men while the author watched, we continually asked "what the hell happened at that club?" It drove us crazy. Even now there are still some unanswered questions I have about the film. I would really like to know if the story that Paul's mother told to Gabrielle about Paul's brother dying in the bath tub was true. If it was true, did Paul kill him or was it an accident that scarred Paul for life? If the story is true, it would explain why Paul is the way he is. On the other hand the story could be fiction as well. After the trial, Paul's mother basically tells Gabrielle to go get stuffed. It seems that she told her the story so she would testify in court. With this film, Chabrol proved that he is a master of suspense.

The ending of the film intrigued me as well. We see Gabrielle being sawed in half by her uncle during a magic act. This is no doubt alluding to the title of the film "A Girl Cut in Two." I believe that conclusion is satisfying as well because the last shot is of Gabrielle smiling in a spotlight. This shows the viewers that a dark chapter of her life has ended and she is eager to go on living. Along with "Les Cousins," "A Girl Cut in Two" is probably one of my favorite French films.