Comedy of Power


Comedy of Power is a 2006 French drama film directed by Claude Chabrol and starring Isabelle Huppert. The French title means "drunk with power". The film is loosely based on a true story involving the french former oil and gas company Elf Aquitaine and judge Eva Joly.

Plot

Humeau, head of a major state-owned company, is arrested for abuse of funds and interrogated by the implacable prosecutor, Jeanne Charmant-Killman. As she uncovers more and more hidden corruption, implicating politicians and foreign powers, both subtle and brutal methods are used to stop her. Intoxicated with the power of rooting out evil, her private life disintegrates and after an apparent suicide attempt her unhappy husband ends up in intensive care. At the hospital she sees Humeau, another man whose health is broken by his ordeal. The audience is left to wonder how many more victims she will amass or whether she will herself succumb to the increasing pressure.

Cast