Review of Femme Fatale (2002) by Benoit M — 31 Oct 2003

I saw Femme Fatale on DVD this afternoon for the first time since I saw it twice at the theaters last year. I like the movie a lot. As a fan of Brian De Palma, I always look forward to his movies although the last movie I saw of his, Mission to Mars, was a disappointment, but I've enjoyed his other movies over the years-- Carrie, Blow Out, Dressed to Kill, Body Double, Mission Impossible, and even Snake Eyes.

I love his use of split screens and he is the only director I know who makes full use of it in many of his movies, and remarkably so. He does it again with Femme Fatale. It's full of twists and surprises and did I say it's one very erotic movie-- the scene in the bathroom at the Cannes Film Festival is a must-see!! My only gripe in the movie is the Bolero-like score in the beginning of the movie which I found distracting.

I would have much preferred if they used Ravel's Bolero than compose another very similar-sounding score. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos' acting, while uneven, still managed to pull me in-- she's a scorcher on-screen with that mysterious yet seductive look; reminds me of the female protagonist in Body Double.

Antonio Banderas, as a struggling photographer, who becomes entangled in her web, does a great job in this movie. Surprisingly, this solid erotic thirller did poorly at the box-office. I think the timing of its release was wrong; it came out last Fall when Harry Potter and The Two Towers were the biggest box-office draws and this movie was buried quickly.

Hopefully, more people will get to see it on video.