"Very Good"
The Color of Lies Review
By Christopher Null
Claude Chabrol's late-career films haven't been entirely inspired, but The Color of Lies is one of the standouts. It begins simply enough: A young girl has been raped and killed, and her creepy art teacher (Jacques Gamblin) is the number one suspect. He protests his innocence, and wife Sandrine Bonnaire stands by him. Meanwhile, other characters -- none of whom exactly exude compassion or likeability -- enter and exit, and the teacher looks increasingly innocent. But who's the killer? The sole lacking spot here is the dead fish of a police detective (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), who's ostensibly the hero of the film yet comes off as incompetent and bumbling at best. In fact, better casting all around could have elevated this film to a minor classic.
Aka Au coeur du mensonge.
Facts and Figures
Year: 1999
Run time: 113 mins
In Theaters: Wednesday 13th January 1999
Production compaines: MK2 Productions, Canal+, France 3 Cinema
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 3.5 / 5
IMDB: 6.7 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Claude Chabrol
Producer: Marin Karmitz
Screenwriter: Odile Barski, Claude Chabrol
Starring: Sandrine Bonnaire as Vivianne Sterne, Jacques Gamblin as René Sterne, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as Frédérique Lesage, Bernard Verley as Inspecteur Loudun, Bulle Ogier as Évelyne Bordier, Pierre Martot as Regis Marchal, Noël Simsolo as Monsieur Bordier, Rodolphe Pauly as Victor, Antoine de Caunes as Germain-Roland Desmot
Also starring: Marin Karmitz, Claude Chabrol
Contactmusic
