none of the characters are sympathetic or interesting

I don't think the slightly fragmented narrative structure adds much of anything but a little confusion. Still, the film is absorbing, Huppert is fascinating and enigmatic, and the film has a lot to suggest--if not a lot to say--about the mystery of evil and the desperately stifling respectability of France's lower middle-class.

I want to like it but there's just not enough drama - everything is played too straight. Also Chabrol is kind of insulting to the viewer by omitting information, and then repeating scenes from a different viewpoint later on to show you that the missing information you had to 'assume' earlier, was actually correct and the most obvious choice. Not the most satisfying reveal/payoff. Huppert already a very good actress at age 25 - no surprise there.

Significantly less powerful than the full extent of Chabrol's capability, less captivating than a drama such as this might have been. A short lapse and later recompensation in the film's chronological order makes for an understandable (intentionally disorienting) narrative choice, but unpleasantly disturbs the flow. Otherwise, quite interesting and able and lacks any glaring flaws.

"Violette doesn't so much rejuvenate the "sex = death" equation that had been in place since Louise Brooks opened Pandora's Box as it does struggle to remember why women want sex in the first place." - Eric Henderson

Good Movie

Violette Noziére is moody, gorgeously crafted and features a magnificently dark star turn for a young Isabelle Huppert.