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This celebrated novel by Francois Mauriac was adapted for the screen by the author himself and by his son Claude, critic of "Le Figaro Literaire". The films director is Georges Franju who has previously given us the celebrated short films, Les sang des betes and Hotel des Invalides.
Therese Desqueyroux, accused of having attempted to poison her husband Bernard, is not proceeded against when the victim does not press the charges. During the course of her journey back to the estate at Argelouse, Therese tries to prepare a complete confession which she considers is due to Bernard. But '"where do our actions really begin''? What road has she travelled from lost days of youth until the time she administered that lingering death to her husband?...
Excellent acting and observant direction combine to make this a taut and absorbing film. Emmanuelle Riva etches a brilliant portrait of the tragic woman almost destroyed by human pettiness, pride and indifference, and director Georges Franju, avoiding overt literary qualities and excessive visual details, builds the probing drama into a film of strength and originality.