Besides the "romance" cliche of a rich girl in love for a bandit, the point to me is the class struggle. Cause when Ben is confronted blackmailing Louise, he says that is doing it, cause he could (knowing about the murder) and that she must knows how does it feel to do things cause you can (with power of money) including the example of how her husband treated him as an employee.
Actually, I still wonder if this film is a pure drama or a crime movie; maybe a little both. This is the story of a young woman - Diane Kruger - involved in a romance with a petty thug - Nicolas Duvauchelle, the French Matt Dillon, the kind of actor who, even in his forties, will continue to play youngsters characters - a thug himself involved with the local and particularly violent, fierce kingpin - played by a convincing Olivier Lousteau - to whom he owes a big sum of money.
I tuned into this film for Catherine Deneuve but, sadly, the plot was so predictable that there wasn't any pleasure in it for me (aside from watching Ms. Deneuve).
