BY BOB STRAUSS >FILM CRITIC

The prolific French filmmaker Claude Chabrol has come up with another sophisticated, nasty gem, "A Girl Cut in Two." Very loosely based on the scandalous, early-20th-century affair of New York architect Stanford White and showgirl Evelyn Nesbitt, it's a near-perfect blend of classic Chabrol elements: sex, class and a little bit of murder.

Set in modern-day Lyon, the film concerns a happily married but irrepressibly promiscuous author, Charles Saint-Denis (Francois Berleand). Much too old to behave like he does but still able to get away with it, he seduces a much younger Gabrielle ("Swimming Pool's" Ludivine Sagnier), a local TV weather girl, into a perverse affair that she fails to recognize is degrading. This even when Charles confronts her with the fact during a scene involving a peacock tail. It's part of Chabrol's wicked genius that, no matter what he does, Charles remains a likable rogue throughout the whole sordid scenario.

That is not the case with Paul Gaudens (Benoit Magimel), the young heir to a local chemical fortune and Gabrielle's spoiled, insistent other suitor. A tad bipolar at the least, Paul represents traditional upper-class privilege, and clashes with the self-made intellectual fortune Charles smugly enjoys. Both assume they can have their way with the less-advantaged Gabrielle, who is, tragically for all, only capable of following her heart.

Of course, Chabrol is too worldly not to play this scenario as the partial comedy that it is. With Eduardo Serra, his favorite cinematographer of late, the director has great fun at the expense of his characters' tastes in fashion and home decor, all while elegantly framing them in the most emotionally resonant manner of any movie this year. Now that's class, curdled as it may be.

A GIRL CUT IN TWO

Not rated: sex, language.

Starring: Francois Berleand, Ludivine Sagnier, Benoit Magimel.

Director: Claude Chabrol.

Running time: 1 hr. 50 min.

Playing: Nuart, West L.A.

In a nutshell: Chabrol's latest cocktail of sex, class and a little bit of murder is as sophisticated as they come.