MovieChat Forums > L'ivresse du pouvoir (2006) Discussion > Question about ending...*spoilers*

Question about ending...spoilers

posted 18 years ago by marlenrf
6 replies | jump to latest

I just saw this movie today. I think that overall it was a good film. I liked it. The only thing that left me wanting more was the ending.

I felt it somewhat rushed. So I have a few questions...

What's the deal with her nephew, is he involved or something? At the end, he's got a really fancy car, he keeps asking her "are you going to continue?"...I mean, I know he said he'd won it in a poker game, but was he lying? And if so, did she know?

Also, the husband's "suicide attempt". Was it a coincidence that Humeau was in the same hospital at the same time? Did someone actually try to kill her husband? If he gets better, he's probably going to expose the culprits...Why aren't we shown that?

And Benoît, he was involved right?

I guess I left the theater a bit confused...haha

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[–] zoppo9999 18 years ago

Concerning Benoît: Erika told Jeanne in the end that "her favourite" Benoît was a mole.

Her nephew is not involved, he's just kind of a playboy with access to the higher society. He only serves as a vehicle to get information to the viewer without making him fall asleep over bone-dry political ramifications.

And Jeanne's husband, well, obviously he wasn't happy about his wife getting that much public attention while himself working in a kind of sh*tty job. He only wanted his life to be as normal as before his wife got assigned to that high profile case, without body guards and stuff.

And the ending: maybe Jeanne actually heard a wakeup call, and she really was fed up. Hey, it's a french movie, those people are meant to act realistic! ;-)

[–] marlenrf 18 years ago

Thankx :-)

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[–] feecarabine65 17 years ago

one more thing... (i've just seen it now)
there is a legitimate suspicion that jeanne's husband didn't try to kill himself but was probably pushed. the question the two cops put to her lead you to think so (why jump if he had a gun? well, maybe he didn't really want to die, or maybe...)

confused? if you think this is confusing, try figuring out the scandals in italy! :))

the only sentence that was kind of wishy washy (although there's some truth to that) is when she says: there's a lot of crap left and right (i'm quoting from memory). but after all, given the state of mind of jeanne, it's entirely understandable: she's just had it.

great movie, and a splendid isabelle (per usual)!

[–] Maykaz 17 years ago

i agree the ending was rushed, there was very little balance in weight between Act 1, 2 and 3.

strangely enough, i wanted Felix's car to explode in the driveway as the credits rolled - sounds awful, but i found the movie boring and uneventful.
From what i've seen of Chabrol's thrillers, i enjoy his suspence, but this film was dissapointing.
Moments of nice transference (from Jeanne to Erika esp.) at times, and many sexy touches in the beginning (the red gloves, lamps, juxtapositions between home and work, the transitions btw scenes were great (ditto to the poster in the other thread))........i'm actually starting to like the film more as i write this....... maybe i'll just ponder it for a night before i post...

(but i was missing coherent cause and effect) but i enjoyed the parody - the music, the excessive cigars, cigarettes, depression and the workaholic and arrogant nature of the heroin.

'But i love you Maude.' 'That's nice Harold go and love some more'

[–] Davy-38 16 years ago

I too thought that Félix' car was going to explode in the end

[–] user1684 17 years ago

I agree with you that it is an overall good film. I really liked it. I have it on DVD and have had the luxury of watching it a few times caused I was initially confused too, like you.

From what I could see after watching this 5 or 6 times is:

The nephew is a gambler and won the fancy car in a poker game. I didn't see anything to suggest otherwise. He's just hanging out and since his uncle, her depressing husband stated he has nothing to do with his family, (presumably including his nephew) the nephew is naturally closer to his aunt. I think he told her that he won the car in a poker game, so yeah she probably knew that he won it in a poker game. I think his profession could have been anything as long as it was anti-establishment. Why not a gambler on a lucky run? His profession was a real nice contrast. Not illegal, but then again not a profession that one brags about. Her and her husband were direct opposites work wise.

Hummeau being in the hospital for depression and the husband recovering from his suicide attempt is probably a coincidence written into the script. Why not?
Her final meeting seemed to work okay.

The husband, a doctor, not happy with his relationship with his wife, and Hummeau facing a long prison term...two guys who really had it made and yet are very unhappy. I think that is what they wanted to say.

The questio of Benoit on the other hand is interesting. I think he was sent there to work closely with her and report back to his superior on what was going on. It was not clear who sent him, while clearly on the same prosecutorial team as her, she was not his boss, so he probably reported to someone else. Pretty typical in the bureaucracy I think. This type of mixed loyalties in government is another thing I think they wanted to say.