Absurdity rules in this grotesque tale of a family vendetta. Set in Nice, it portrays three old ladies' attempt to take revenge on the murderers of three of their family members. While they kill them one after another, everyone suspects the investigating police officer to be the fulfiller of the vendetta, since one of the victims was his sisters, and since he of Corsian blood is expected by his colleagues, friends and neighbors to take law into his own hands. Things get even more confused when his wife, committing adultery whenever given the chance, also confuses his softness and dutifulness as a disguise for the killings. Thus, to help him and to regain his respect, she secretly takes part in the killings as well... If taken for nothing more than it is, Hubert Cornfields last film is quite entertaining and funny at times. It's very "french" in it's looks and perfectly fits into the atmosphere of all these very "chabrolian" crime stories from the 70s. Hard to find, probably, but worth a look. Not least for the end credits musical background, a charming chanson on the pleasures of revenge.
Review of Les grands moyens
