Comedy of power

Lean, tough and rapid judicial investigator Jeanne Sharman-Kilman ( Isabelle Huppert ) is trying to squeeze a group of high-ranking dealers, led by the head of a large corporation, who created an extensive system of bribery and corruption. Thanks to her focus and ruthlessness, Jeanne manages to split one corrupt official after another. At the same time, Jeanne is faced with an entrenched system of friendly relations between business leaders and large government officials and the fact that corporate power is considered the norm by most influential figures around her, including those who can influence her career. Jeanne receives threats to her life, she is being watched, and even an attempt on her life is planned. She has to face the growing tension in relations with her husband, and with the glory that suddenly fell upon her. However, in the end, Jeanne managed to withstand and gain a temporary victory on the corruption group, but she was unlikely to be able to eradicate the corruption system as a whole.

The way of showing corruption mechanisms, the restraint of camera work and the narrative built around the dialogs make the picture look like a television crime drama based on real material. The film provides an interesting analysis of the personality of the main character, a workaholic who has no time for food and sleep, sympathy and sadness, and for her husband, she is completely devoted to her work and is ready to do anything to achieve her goal. At the same time, Chabrol shows how difficult it is for a woman to break into a vicious system of power and management, in which friendships uniting exclusively men are dominant. Despite the serious problems of the picture, the film at the same time looks like a fascinating thriller that can hold the attention of a wide audience.