Fun as only De Palma can be. Here he shines with the giallo and noir references. Some say it's more formulaic than his others and that it seems to lack personal spark. I agree. Femme Fatale is like a well oiled name dropping machine cloaked in gorgeous camerawork and stylistic flourishes. Maybe that's a bad thing but it's just so much fun I can't help but adore it. Maybe it's a guilty pleasure, maybe its something more. Sometimes watching De Palma's work feels like the cinematic equivalent of jerking myself off for two hours and giving myself a high five every time I spot a line or scene taken out of Vertigo or Rear Window or Mona Lisa or Suspiria. What does it say about me that I enjoy that as much as I do?
Late-era De Palma isn't very popular (anything after Mission: Impossible was pretty badly received), but Femme Fatale starts with a fun heist set at the Cannes Film Festival. After it's bungled, the nominal Femme (Rebecca Romijn) escapes with both the authorities and her partners on her tail and adopts a new identity; a nosy paparazzi (Antonio Banderas) could ruin all her plans. De Palma uses a bunch of tricks we've seen before - split screens, slow-mo, diopter shots (indeed much of this was on show in the similarly sexy Dressed to Kill, for example) - but since very few directors make much use of this photographic vocabulary (at least, in this way), it keeps the picture from seeming like a Greatest Hits album. Romijn impresses with her language/accent skills, but it's hard to get a handle on a character who lies for a living. This one really lives or dies on whether or not you buy the insane final twist. Sure, there are clues that something odd is happening (look at the fish tank early in the film, then after the twist), but it's still rather inexplicable and on a plot level, unjustifiable. THEMATICALLY, one could make a case that lies create a reality, and that Romijn lies so well, she can have an actual effect on it. But does De Palma actually MAKE that case believably? You be the judge.
Overrated and kind of stupid. An american trying to make a french movie. The twist is all kinds of retarded. The protag isn't really even a femme fatale so the title is stupid.
Add your comment
Comments 1 - 5 of 5
nick121235
Fun as only De Palma can be. Here he shines with the giallo and noir references. Some say it's more formulaic than his others and that it seems to lack personal spark. I agree. Femme Fatale is like a well oiled name dropping machine cloaked in gorgeous camerawork and stylistic flourishes. Maybe that's a bad thing but it's just so much fun I can't help but adore it. Maybe it's a guilty pleasure, maybe its something more. Sometimes watching De Palma's work feels like the cinematic equivalent of jerking myself off for two hours and giving myself a high five every time I spot a line or scene taken out of Vertigo or Rear Window or Mona Lisa or Suspiria. What does it say about me that I enjoy that as much as I do?TomServo
De Palma, you crazy bastard. You beautiful, crazy bastard.Ariph
A very odd movie, like it tough. Not spoling anything. 7/10, on IMDB it's just 6.2. Worth watching at least once.Siskoid
Late-era De Palma isn't very popular (anything after Mission: Impossible was pretty badly received), but Femme Fatale starts with a fun heist set at the Cannes Film Festival. After it's bungled, the nominal Femme (Rebecca Romijn) escapes with both the authorities and her partners on her tail and adopts a new identity; a nosy paparazzi (Antonio Banderas) could ruin all her plans. De Palma uses a bunch of tricks we've seen before - split screens, slow-mo, diopter shots (indeed much of this was on show in the similarly sexy Dressed to Kill, for example) - but since very few directors make much use of this photographic vocabulary (at least, in this way), it keeps the picture from seeming like a Greatest Hits album. Romijn impresses with her language/accent skills, but it's hard to get a handle on a character who lies for a living. This one really lives or dies on whether or not you buy the insane final twist. Sure, there are clues that something odd is happening (look at the fish tank early in the film, then after the twist), but it's still rather inexplicable and on a plot level, unjustifiable. THEMATICALLY, one could make a case that lies create a reality, and that Romijn lies so well, she can have an actual effect on it. But does De Palma actually MAKE that case believably? You be the judge.shitmovies
Overrated and kind of stupid. An american trying to make a french movie. The twist is all kinds of retarded. The protag isn't really even a femme fatale so the title is stupid.