The young and only son of widower Charles Thénier (Duchaussoy) is killed by a hit-and-run driver whom the police are unable to trace. Resolving to find and kill the killer, Charles becomes involved with a woman whose brother-in-law (Jean Yanne) he believes may be the object of his pursuit. One of director Chabrol’s great Hitchcockian thrillers, This Man Must Die is a complex and finely shaded diagnosis of the subtle shifts and contradictions in the balance of human motives and behavior. Yanne’s notable performance is illuminated by the film’s expressive camerawork and its effective use of a song by Brahms.