Passion

Brian De Palma is a director who is responsible for some of cinema's greatest films.  The thing is, he hasn't directed a real masterpiece since The Untouchables back in 1987.  Since then, De Palma's films have been inconsistent (that's putting it nicely).  But I keep watching his new movies hoping that one of them will live up to the legacy De Palma built from 1973-1987.  While none of his films since 1988 have been on par with his earlier output, there are occasional blips of quality that keep me hanging on (Carlito's Way, Mission Impossible, and Femme Fatale).  I'm pleased to say that Passion is one of those blips.

Despite waiting eagerly for about a year to watch this movie, I had no idea until the opening credits that Passion is a remake.  Not only that, but an English-language remake of a French film from 2010.  I rarely watch English-language remakes without seeing the original first.  Turns out that the original film is streaming on Netflix (it's called Love Crime).  So if you'd like to see the original first, it's there for you.  I'll be watching it very soon.

This movie is about a pair of women, Christine and Isabelle, who work for an advertising firm.  They engage in back stabbing and one-upmanship all while juggling a shared homoeroticism and sleeping with the same man.  Eventually Isabelle has a nervous breakdown and is placed on medication.  She awakes one day to find herself in jail accused of Christine's murder.  All signs point to her, but can she prove her innocence?

Passion is Brian De Palma embracing the two things he is most known for: the erotic thriller and Hitchcock-ian style/themes.  Neither of these things reaches the level of his previous efforts.  The eroticism is fleeting and the Hitchcock-ian elements don't begin to manifest until the finale.  Regardless, the film is pretty good.  The tone of the film shifts abruptly multiple times.  De Palma films usually embrace various tones, but Passion doesn't juggle them very well.  The tonal shifts coupled with the break neck pacing (with minimal information given to the audience) gives the film the feel of being an over edited release of a three hour movie.  I hope there is a director's cut floating around.  Passion would benefit from a little breathing room.

The erotic thriller part is a bit over sold.  Knowing what I know about De Palma movies and based on the marketing, I thought I was going to watch a steamy lesbian murder mystery.  To be sure there's some very sexual elements to this movie, but don't watch it because you hope to see some hot girl-on-girl action.  And maybe that's for the best.  If Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace (two big Hollywood crushes of mine) actually got hot and heavy, my brain would probably short out.

The finale is the major draw of this movie.  The first hour is pretty clunky.  But once the murder mystery kicks in, Passion really takes off.  The Hitchcock and noir influences become intensely apparent (the film is also at that point a very Hitchcock-ian "wrongly accused" movie).  The score, which is really good the entire film, becomes a loud, driving force that almost feels lifted from some classic film noir.

It's nice to see a modern Brian De Palma movie that I like.  I don't think it will be a film that gains appreciation as the years pass (like Femme Fatale has), but it's a worthwhile way to spend 105 minutes whether you're a De Palma fan or a casual moviegoer.

6.5 out of 10