Although not without dull patches, this is on the whole an absorbing account of the tale of a French officer, presumed dead in the Napleonic Wars, who returns home after countless impoverishments and humiliations. Looming out of the murk like some Gallic Scrooge, Gérard Depardieu isn this role, discovering that his wife (Fanny Ardant) has remained with his wealth, but stands to lose her ambitious new husband if Chabert is declared alive. What will Chabert, having convinced an astute lawyer (his wife's) of his authenticity, settle for - if anything? That's the nub of this carefully composed story of power, ambition and torment. The unspoken friendship between Chabert and the lawyer with a rat-trap mind (Fabrice Luchini) is nicely sketched in but never over-stated.


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