THE BREAK UP

Maybe marrying into wealth and position was a bad life move for Hélène. After her acidhead husband freaks out, sending their son to the hospital, father-in-law Ludovic hires erstwhile romantic charmer Paul to blackmail her.

Claude Chabrol, French New Wave pioneer and expert Cahiers du Cinéma critic (along with Godard, Truffaut, Rivette, and Rohmer), hit his stride as a modern, master torchbearer of Hitchcock’s thrilling suspense and dark humor in the late 60s and early 70s. La rupture is one of his best.