Good reason to commit a 'Love Crime'

Utterly tongue-in-cheek as a murder story but biting as a social critique/comedy, "Love Crime" is the posthumous finale of French director Alain Corneau, best known for 1991's "Touts les Matins du Monde" ("All the Mornings of the World") and a filmmaker of a subtle and sardonic mind.

This is especially evident in "Love Crime," a deliciously twisted bit of business, about twisted business: At the Paris office of an American multinational, the fashionable and fabulous Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas) is top dog, who keeps her best asset on a leash -- namely, Isabelle (Ludivine Sagnier), the smartest kid in the office, and one whose ideas are propelling Christine's career. Isa puts up with it, and Christine lets her -- she even lets Isabelle have her boyfriend, the oily Philippe (Patrick Mille), if only she'll play along. But when Christine intentionally mortifies Isabelle at a company party, the younger woman has finally had it. And Christine gets it.

The architecture of murder in "Love Crime" is a rather baroque construction, fascinating, ingenious and highly unlikely. What Corneau was much more interested in was the subtle, and not-so-subtle, interactions between people, their behavior under pressure, and the way their personalities are reflected in the little worlds they create around themselves. So "Love Crime" should not be watched just for the action, but for the world Corneau conjures up and, of course, for the acting.

Scott Thomas is her usual brilliant self, more flamboyant and scheming than usual, and Sagnier, customarily cast for her very obvious attributes and allure, is excellent playing against type, as a repressed woman finally pushed to the brink.

PLOT Exploited and humiliated by her manipulative boss, the brilliant office wallflower takes revenge. Unrated

CAST Ludivine Sagnier, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patrick Mille

LENGTH 1:49

PLAYING AT Malverne Cinema 4, Manhasset Cinemas, Sag Harbor Cinemas

BOTTOM LINE An enigmatic update of "All About Eve" -- with knives -- terrifically acted by its two leads. (In French, with English subtitles)