Review of Irma Vep (1996) by Richard S — 06 Jan 2009

Although it was far stronger than I remembered, I'm not entirely sold on Assayas' homage to, well, a lot of things. Although I've enjoyed a few of his films, his genre exercises are rarely as coolly effortless as advertised. This is decidedly easier to watch than something like "Demonlover", but although he alternates between lampooning and admiring then-current Hollywood blockbusters, his work isn't that much more substantial. It's essentially a chance to dress up his soon-to-be wife in a latex catsuit while applying the nouvelle vague's self-referential qualities to 90s cultural touchstones. I don't have a problem with this approach, but aside from the fantastically edited/scored final sequence, it's not as great as the concept promises.

2.5+ .5 for the finale.