I have seen quite a few Claude Chabrol films. A few I have loved, but with so many others, it seems like the director is following a script with great ideas that just seems to miss the mark. In effect, these are decent films that just don't quite hit their stride. Maybe others have had similar reactions.Part of the reason I was left a bit cold about the film is the weirdness of the family's sexual dynamics. Perhaps it's not thought of the same way in French culture, but I know that the two lovers in the story would NOT be accepted in the USA. Think about it--they are step-brother and step-sister who are making love. This is odd, but morally it's not so bad. BUT, they are also first cousins! This is just too weird and I don't think the plot needed this as a distraction. Just having them be "steps" should have been fine--the cousins thing was just unnecessary and icky. And, the family apparently approved of this and it was some sort of weird family tradition. Ewwww.The other problem was that although I liked what transpired between the father and step-daughter near the very end, it seems like the film stopped too quickly--like the resolution of the film was never decided. This isn't a horrible thing--as some ambiguity could be okay, but I know many who see this will be left a little cold. Plus, at times, the characters were just too cold and uninteresting.Now, as far as the acting goes it was generally fine and I liked the main story ideas. I loved the performance and characterization of Aunt Line--her story was GREAT. Also, having a son who has no feeling for his father and step-siblings falling in love are all good topics for a film. With a small re-write, this movie could have gotten an 8 or 9.

Destiny -- how much of your family bloodline and what they have done before determine what you will be and do? Destiny is a major theme in Chabrol's efficient "La Fleur Du Mal".It's a straightforward story on the surface, but you always get the feeling something deeper is lurking underneath -- not unlike some David Lynch fare. There is great acting by the entire ensemble -- from Nathalie Baye as a political animal, to Suzanne Flon as Aunt Tile, and especially the step-son and daughter who fall in love.The end is a bit of a let-down -- after all the buildup, you anticipate something more profound or unexpected. But all in all, there are a lot worse films out there, and worse ways to spend 2 hours.

This movie starts by playing a little trick on the audience, showing first the exterior of a luxurious estate, a maid setting the dinner table, followed by a slow penning camera creeping up the stair evoking a Hitchcock-ish atmosphere. All the while with an elegant mezzo (I think) solo in the background, the camera progresses to reveal a young woman crouching at the corner of a room upstairs, apparently in great distress and, finally, the dead body of a well attired man in a pool of blood.But that is not what the movie is about. I would not go so far to say that the murder we have been shown, which happened two generations before the time of the present-day story, is a red herring. There is some relevance but it certainly does not carry as much weigh as the attention paid to it by the movie may suggest. The final "revelation" is neither compelling nor convincing, and not even as meaningful as (I'm just picking one from the top of my head) the one in "A door on the floor".Director Charbrol's latest work is yet another jab at the French middle class. The target appears to be hypocrisy, primarily through the couple that is on the surface a widower and a widow finding happiness again, together. It doesn't take long to see what sort of shallow politician Anne (Nathalie Baye) is. Gerard (Bernard Le Coq) starts out getting a little sympathy as the somewhat neglected husband, but becomes increasingly despicable every minute as we find out more and more about him.Much brighter is the relationship of their respective offspring Francois (Benoit Magimel) and Michelle (Melanie Doutey), brother and sister only through marriage of their respective parents but not by blood. Their romance is depicted as a perfectly normal sweet love story and the pair simply looks beautiful together. Last but nor least of the key characters is elderly Aunt Line (Suzanne Flon) who carries her own secret, the importance of which, however, has been exaggerated. The elements of "mock" incest and somber family history cast a faint shadow of Ibsen's "Ghosts" but the link is only superficial. The innuendo of incest in the earlier generation however is wickedly subtle.This movie is best enjoyed as a light satire with excellent acting and beautiful filming.

Director/co-writer Claude Chabrol creates a spellbinding film about 3 generations of a family cursed with evil, which bursts forth again in a mayoral campaign. As in other films, Chabrol enrolled his own family in the effort: son Thomas effectively plays a shrewd politician, son Matthieu provided the subtle score, and wife Aurore was the script supervisor of Flower of Evil's witty, trenchant dialogue.