"Delving into Claude Chabrol's last nine films with an entomologist's loop, Jacob Leigh provides close and clever readings of Chabrolian codes, contradictions and cunning as he convincingly argues for an expression of late style." -- Andréa Picard, Film Programmer, Toronto International Film Festival, Canada "This book is the first in any language to take the full measure of Claude Chabrol's unique achievement as a filmmaker. Jacob Leigh brings together all the Chabrolian elements: humour and tragedy, involvement and distance, extreme stylisation and everyday detail, irony and critique. An indispensable companion to a rich body of work." -- Adrian Martin, Professor of Film, Monash University, Australia "In this insightful and meticulous volume, Jacob Leigh provides an astute and authoritative account of a somewhat overlooked period in Chabrol's filmmaking career. Combining precise analysis with eloquent critical enquiry, this book will be indispensable to devotees of this director, of French film, and of contemporary cinema studies." -- James Walters, Head of Film and Creative Writing, University of Birmingham, UK "This is an elegant, eloquent and vital contribution to our understanding and appreciation of Chabrol's films. It also adds to scholarship on notions of late style, and guides the reader back to the director's work through sensitive interpretations.

" -- Steven Peacock, Professor of Film, University of Lincoln, UK "A rich appreciation of Claude Chabrol illuminating with great sensitivity and detail the careful complexities of the director's late films. Leigh articulates the intricacies of Chabrol's style with great skill, providing a meticulous understanding of his sophisticated and playful construction of fictional worlds that challenge the viewer through stylised form and uncomfortable ambivalence. Essential reading for anyone interested in Chabrol, French cinema at the turn of the 21st Century or the contemporary development of melodrama, this book further highlights the value of an aesthetic understanding for our engagement with film." -- Lucy Fife Donaldson, Lecturer in Film Studies, University of St Andrews, UK.