The Swindle Review
With such a strong lead duo as Isabelle_Huppert and Michel_Serrault and a director as respected as Claude_Chabrol, you'd think it'd be hard to go wrong. And Rien Ne Va Plus (released in the U.S. as The Swindle) is a competent enough thriller, but somehow it never catches as much fire as the strong cast and complex intrigue portends. Maybe it's because the complicated setup of the heist intended to be Huppert and Serrault's tour de force takes so damned long to actually set up. Maybe it's because the final battle over the booty is a bit of an anti-climax, and not nearly as tense as the buildup might lead you to expect. Maybe it's because the film at some points seems indecisive as to whether to be a semi-comic study of the odd, vaguely defined, amiable-yet-smoldering relationship between Huppert and Serrault or whether to play up the suspense over the scheme Huppert's cooked up to relieve an executive of five million Swiss francs. More than anything, though, it's because the pace is oddly relaxed and subdued, which works against the nail-biting atmosphere for which the swindle scenes seem to be straining. The result is a rather middling, if craftsmanlike, work. The interaction between Huppert and Serrault does have its share of interesting enigma, though, always keeping viewers on their toes as to whether the characters' actions are honorable, deceitful, or some combination of the two. Richie Unterberger, Rovi
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