I really can't see how constantly lighting up adds any dimension to a character. If it's supposed to portray weakness, stress or frustration couldn't we work that out with the skill of the actor rather than such a predictable prop? I found that watching Isabelle Huppert constantly lighting up detracted from rather than adding to her acting.
As for the tree trunk sized cigars.....
Having lived in France for many years, I'd have found the film totally unbelievable if Chabrol had decided to observe a smoking ban in order not to upset the more sensitive members of his audience. Jeanne, for instance, is clearly a driven woman, impatient, quick-witted,obsessive - an addictive personality. If she hadn't been shown smoking, it could only have been because she had given it up, and that would have been far more distracting: the facial tics, the constant reaching for the missing packet of fags, the recourse to peppermints/alcohol/junk food....
share. . . rather than such a predictable prop?Films by their nature are full of props, and if a prop is "predictable" that then will most likely mean that the director's/actor's message is going to come across. As for the "tree trunk sized cigars", I rest my case.
Don't know why we're @war w/ Islam: Americans've been touting their stupid hyper-pseudo-morality for decades. People smoke; Americans whimper, whine, & scold.
Good thing Americans have those freakin' rights, cuz they sure as shootin' don't have any brains.