Femme Fatale (2002)

Note Générale:

6,3/10   

Réalisateur:

Brian De Palma

Scénariste (WGA):

Brian De Palma (written by)

Date de sortie:

6 novembre 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Accroche:

Nothing is more desirable or more deadly than a woman with a secret

Intrigue:

A woman tries to straighten out her life, even as her past as a con-woman comes back to haunt her.

Plot Keywords:

Identity | Photographer | Cannes | Ambassador | Suicide

Récompenses:

1 win & 1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

Auteur theory is alive and well with De Palma

Ensemble

Rebecca Romijn	...	Laure / Lily (as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
Antonio Banderas	...	Nicolas Bardo
Peter Coyote	...	Watts
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Black Tie
Edouard Montoute	...	Racine
Rie Rasmussen	...	Veronica
Thierry Frémont	...	Serra (as Thierry Fremont)
Gregg Henry	...	Shiff
Fiona Curzon	...	Stanfield Phillips
Daniel Milgram	...	Pierre / Bartender
Jean-Marc Minéo	...	Seated Guard (as Jean-Marc Mineo)
Jean Chatel	...	Cannes Commentator
Stéphane Petit	...	Bodyguard One (as Stephane Petit)
Olivier Follet	...	Bodyguard Two
Eva Darlan	...	Irma

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence and language.

Durée:

114 min

Pays:

France

Langue:

Anglais | Français

Couleur:

Couleur

Rapport de forme:

1,85 : 1

Son:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Classification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Philippines:R-18

Lieux de tournage:

Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Société:

Epsilon Motion Pictures

Anecdotes:

Melanie Griffith convinced husband 'Antonio Banderas' to take the role of Nicolas Bardo, even though it wasn't the lead. She did it as a favor to Brian De Palma, who gave her her big break in films decades before.

Goofs:

Continuité: When Laure/Lily's girlfriend first goes under the lorry, her boot heels change. One minute they're stilettos, the next they're chunky heels.

Guillemet:

Laure Ash: [talking about herself] What happened to poor Lily? She must have drowned and washed out to sea.

Connexions:

Référencé sur Film Geek (2005)

Bande son:

My Ideal

Auteur theory is alive and well with De Palma

Mr. De Palma is not a critics' darling, and as such his latest, Femme Fatale, has come in for his usual roasting. Is it deserved? Not if you love a film that embraces the visual splendour and techniques that make cinema a unique art form.

Femme Fatale sees De Palma returning to his forte: the suspense thriller. It is a welcome return considering his recent fare have seen him straying to more mainstream efforts - Mission to Mars, Mission: Impossible - that were shells of his virtuoso films of the late 70s and early 80s.

The film leads off with a stunning 20-minute Jewel heist sequence that takes place during the Cannes film festival of 2001. Completely bereft of dialogue, a la Topkapi, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos's character has the enviable task of lifting a diamond dress from Rie Rasmussun in a bathroom encounter. His first original screenplay in 10 years, De Palma writes a tightly-plotted tale that certainly does not lead the audience by the hand, and the resulting twists it provides will allow different perspectives on the film's events with repeat viewings.

Antonio Banderas - usually lost without cause if not working with Robert Rodriguez - does what he needs to do with efficiency; Romijn-Stamos, the Femme Fatale of the title, provides the eye candy. The acting is not top drawer, but it does not need to be: we're here to see an auteur in his element: De Palma delivers. Cinema is more than a stage with a camera - De Palma uses his camera and cinema technique to brilliant effect. Huge swooping camera movements, split-screen, slow motion sequences, no dialogue and an enveloping orchestral score; De Palma's signature is prevalent. And that is good: a director should never be an autonomous entity, happy to turn out derivative drivel that get the masses in and out - directors for hire are too commonplace in Hollywood today - and that is something that De Palma could never be accused of.

Femme Fatale is a great example of a director working in a genre he loves and understands, and given the freedom to create. Total cinema? Its smell is sure intoxicating. Welcome back, Mr. De Palma.