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Movies / On DVD / The Swindle
The Swindle

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The Swindle (1997)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:17

Rotten:8

Average Rating:6.3/10

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: In Claude Chabrol's fiftieth film, two lifelong partners in crime, Betty (Isabelle Hupert) and Victor (Michel Serrault), operating out of a small RV, criss-cross the country, hopping from... In Claude Chabrol's fiftieth film, two lifelong partners in crime, Betty (Isabelle Hupert) and Victor (Michel Serrault), operating out of a small RV, criss-cross the country, hopping from convention to convention and scamming bourgeois businessmen out of petty sums of money. They make enough, however, to maintain a comfortable if elusive lifestyle. When Victor discovers that Betty has been carrying on her own scam for over a year, the blurry lines between secrets and lies break down. As the scheming duo go ahead with Betty's complicated scheme to steal a breifcase from a man (Francois Cluzet) who holds the treasure of a multinational corporation, the film kicks in to high gear. Filled with switched identities, changing allegiances, suppressed romances, and switcheroos, the elaborate story, which takes viewers from the Swiss Alps to the tropics, leads to an operatic and surprising climax. True to Chabrol's style, the ambiguous and compelling psychology, always in flux, propels the drama of the film forward even more than the actual danger of the plot. [More]

Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Michel Serrault, François Cluzet, Jean-François Balmer

Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Michel Serrault, François Cluzet, Jean-François Balmer, Jackie Berroyer, Jean Benguigui, Thomas Chabrol

Director: Claude Chabrol

Director: Claude Chabrol
Producer: Marin Karmitz

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Aug 29, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Swindle

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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It's another wickedly humorous psychological thriller that provides a showy part for [Chabrol's] favorite star, Isabelle Huppert.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
04/03/02
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Deftly mixes humor and suspense in equal measure.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Like The Grifters and Bound, The Swindle succeeds because, in addition to telling an engaging crime story with vivid characters, it never takes itself too seriously.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As a cinematic confection from one of the masters, it's cotton candy, evaporating before it ever gets good.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
08/31/06
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
DVDTalk.com

Chabrol's 50th film, made with the practiced ease of a master.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pleases the eye without ever awakening the mind, offering a delicately told tale of intrigue and corruption without ever awakening the basic human passions which are supposedly its subject.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

The ambiguous pairing of Victor (Serrault) and Betty (Huppert) is both comfortable and playful.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Graham
Bob Graham
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Swindle might not be a deep film, but it makes no missteps in showing us the steps these two small time crooks take as they attempt to pull off a big time con.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
07/29/02
Jeremy Heilman
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com

It's a fluffy, good-natured exercise in style that succeeds just fine, but doesn't leave you wanting any more.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
G. Allen Johnson
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Examiner

Illustrates the way that comedy is serious business, divulging remarkable intelligence to viewers about the human condition.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
01/01/00
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Trust no one. Suspect everyone. It will still have one more angle to unfold that you will not anticipate.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
01/01/00
Arthur Lazere
Arthur Lazere
culturevulture.net

A hit and miss bag of cosmopolitan wit.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Trevor Lewis
Trevor Lewis
Empire Magazine

Even when it threatens to sink into the familiar mechanics of a double-dealing heist story, Chabrol keeps curiosity piqued, the actors delightful and the outcome in sufficient question.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

unfunny and unthrilling

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/22/06
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

This is one of Chabrol's poorer films.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This is a piece of fluff that dissolves like a sugar cube as you watch it.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Paul Tatara
Paul Tatara
CNN.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A failed attempt at frivolity.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Amy Taubin
Amy Taubin
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A work of superb yet unpretentious film craftsmanship by a past master and an impeccable cast and crew.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Chabrol's plot is silly, wholly unbelievable even for light fare, and downright confounding.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
Doris Toumarkine
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International

It is played out with style and wit, with a pair of winning performances from the leads.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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