10 years after his Academy Award win and now at the age of 80, lauded director and controversial person Roman Polanski may very well be at his most prolific. "La Vénus à la fourrure" is already his third feature film since 2010 and they're all of at least decent quality. His 2011 work "Carnage" already centered on no more than four characters and with his newest effort, he's even down to 2, the same quantity like in his last work "A Therapy", which was merely a short film though. These two are some of the most significant names in French cinema right now, namely Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric, which actually makes it a reunion from the universally praised "Le scaphandre et le papillon".
"La Vénus à la fourrure" is an interesting character study and the material is perfect for Polanski's way of depicting the abysses of human behavior and relationships. Of course, it's not as bright as the films of Woody Allen for example, but if you closely pay attention, you'll find a good ounce of Polanski's humor as well, the highlight being of course Vanda shouting obscenities in a way Thomas' wife can hear it over the phone. These phone calls are one of the most telling parts anyway as every time Thomas robs Vanda of his attention, she (seemingly) turns the tables on him. The way Thomas gets more and more caught up in Vanda's web is something special anyway and a masterclass performance by Amalric. In addition, his scene in drag near the end could have turned out pretty bad if not executed with focus and precision and Amalric did all that.
Seigner as his counterpart was pretty convincing too. She's in control from start to finish. Yes she is too late, but of course she knew how to scheme things to get the audition. There never was the option that she would not. I also like the idea of her deliberately waiting inside until the last applicant had left and wait until she can be late just for the sake of it, just for setting herself apart from the oh so punctual and dutiful other contestants. She's the S in SM. She's always in charge, even if she lets Thomas think he is. Thomas is desperate because none of the others could make the part work, here's his rescue. He needs that woman, he can't do without her. And quickly, his professional dependence turns into an emotional one.
There really was not much wrong with this movie. Both actors did their best and it's well written and directed. The setting was great with the stage, although the real stage was the two circling around the theater stage. If there was anything I didn't like, it was the final scene of Seigner's character. The silent domination from all the previous scenes becoming so showy all of a sudden with all the lights etc. didn't appeal to me at all. It still was just a minor flaw to me personally and I recommend the movie, which is probably even more impressive as I wasn't too familiar with the actors before watching the movie and also not really interested in the world of theater or sadomasochism. 90 minutes of men-women interaction at his very darkest.
"La Vénus à la fourrure" is an interesting character study and the material is perfect for Polanski's way of depicting the abysses of human behavior and relationships. Of course, it's not as bright as the films of Woody Allen for example, but if you closely pay attention, you'll find a good ounce of Polanski's humor as well, the highlight being of course Vanda shouting obscenities in a way Thomas' wife can hear it over the phone. These phone calls are one of the most telling parts anyway as every time Thomas robs Vanda of his attention, she (seemingly) turns the tables on him. The way Thomas gets more and more caught up in Vanda's web is something special anyway and a masterclass performance by Amalric. In addition, his scene in drag near the end could have turned out pretty bad if not executed with focus and precision and Amalric did all that.
Seigner as his counterpart was pretty convincing too. She's in control from start to finish. Yes she is too late, but of course she knew how to scheme things to get the audition. There never was the option that she would not. I also like the idea of her deliberately waiting inside until the last applicant had left and wait until she can be late just for the sake of it, just for setting herself apart from the oh so punctual and dutiful other contestants. She's the S in SM. She's always in charge, even if she lets Thomas think he is. Thomas is desperate because none of the others could make the part work, here's his rescue. He needs that woman, he can't do without her. And quickly, his professional dependence turns into an emotional one.
There really was not much wrong with this movie. Both actors did their best and it's well written and directed. The setting was great with the stage, although the real stage was the two circling around the theater stage. If there was anything I didn't like, it was the final scene of Seigner's character. The silent domination from all the previous scenes becoming so showy all of a sudden with all the lights etc. didn't appeal to me at all. It still was just a minor flaw to me personally and I recommend the movie, which is probably even more impressive as I wasn't too familiar with the actors before watching the movie and also not really interested in the world of theater or sadomasochism. 90 minutes of men-women interaction at his very darkest.