Saturday, May 21, 2022
flickfeast
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Festivals
  • FrightFeast
  • Spotlight
  • Contribute
  • Submissions
    • Advertise on Flickfeast
    • Submit a Film
No Result
View All Result
flickfeast
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Festivals
  • FrightFeast
  • Spotlight
  • Contribute
  • Submissions
    • Advertise on Flickfeast
    • Submit a Film
No Result
View All Result
FLICKFEAST
No Result
View All Result
Home Reviews Film Review

Passion (2012)

Kevin Matthews by Kevin Matthews
August 14, 2013
in Film Review
14
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Brian De Palma. He’s a director not afraid to take risks and have fun with material that can, more likely than not, twist and turn from start to finish. The man has a bare-faced cheek that few others can rival, but when his style matches some great substance his confidence is well-deserved. He has created some of the finest, albeit not too original, thrillers of the past few decades. Sadly, he appears to be well beyond his prime and Passion is, despite some strong competition, one of his worst outings.

Rachel McAdams plays Christine, a canny young woman who works hard and plays hard while always aiming for the finer things in life. When she praises her employee, Isabelle (Noomi Rapace), for her latest work and then takes all the credit for it when questioned about it by someone higher up the food chain it’s not long until something bad is going to happen. The relationship between Christine and Isabelle sours, understandably, and the two start doing whatever they can to score points off each other with things quickly going from bad to worse.

You might also like

Benediction (2021) — Film Review

The Innocents (2021) – Film Review

Father Stu (2022) – Film Review

It’s really difficult to work up enthusiasm for a review of this movie when De Palma seems to have barely opened his eyes long enough to film the thing. There are one or, to be generous, maybe two moments that remind you of how stylish the man can be, but everything else is almost inexcusably bad. It’s like a low-budget soap opera that throws in some nudity and kinky moments in a desperate grab for viewing figures.

Rachel McAdams is someone I have always liked onscreen, until now. This movie makes her unlikeable. It’s not just her character being so bad, the fact is that she’s given poor material throughout and none of the script plays to her strengths. The fact that she STILL manages to come out of this as one of the better aspects of the film is testament to her charm. Noomi Rapace, on the other hand, must spend her every waking moment thanking her lucky stars for landing the role of Lisbeth Salander a few years ago. Because I can’t think of any other scenario in which such a cold, wooden, untalented actress would have her career. I’ve enjoyed her on occasion, but there hasn’t been a movie role given to her in the past couple of years that couldn’t have been handed to a hundred better actresses. Admit it. Go on, admit it. As for the rest of the cast, it’s hard to tell just how bad Karoline Herfurth, Paul Anderson, Rainer Block et al really are when they’re stuck with such poor material to work with. I suspect that they’re not the best bunch, but they may not be as bad as the movie makes out either.

I really wanted to enjoy Passion. I’d not watched a De Palma movie since Femme Fatale but, despite how downright cheeky it was, I really enjoyed that one and hoped that I could continue being in the minority – praising the man as someone who still obviously had plenty of talent to use on admittedly lightweight fare. Unfortunately, Passion may stand as an unworthy footnote to a fantastic career.

Passion is released on shiny disc form here in the UK on August 12th.

DIRECTOR: BRIAN DE PALMA
WRITER: BRIAN DE PALMA, NATALIE PALMER, BASED ON THE SCREENPLAY “CRIME D’AMOUR” BY NATALIE PALMER AND ALAIN CORNEAU
STARS: RACHEL MCADAMS, NOOMI RAPACE, KAROLINE HERFURTH, PAUL ANDERSON, RAINER BLOCK, BENJAMIN SADLER
RUNTIME: 105 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: GERMANY/FRANCE

Film Rating: ★½☆☆☆

Tags: Alain Corneaubenjamin sadlerbrian de palmaCrimeKaroline Herfurthnatalie palmerNOOMI RAPACEpaul andersonRachel McAdamsrainer blockthriller
Kevin Matthews

Kevin Matthews

Kevin Matthews lives in Edinburgh and has done for some time. He loves it there and he loves movies, especially horrors. No film is too awful to pass through his cinematic haze.

Related Posts

Benediction (2021)
Film Review

Benediction (2021) — Film Review

by Jasmine Valentine
May 19, 2022
The Innocents (2021) – Film Review
Film Review

The Innocents (2021) – Film Review

by William Stottor
May 17, 2022
Father Stu (2022) – Film Review
Film Review

Father Stu (2022) – Film Review

by Dallas King
May 12, 2022
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Film Review

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) — Film Review

by Jasmine Valentine
May 11, 2022
The Takedown (2022) – Film Review
Film Review

The Takedown (2022) – Film Review

by Maxance Vincent
May 9, 2022

Recommended

VENICE 2015 – Go With Me (2015)

VENICE 2015 – Go With Me (2015)

September 24, 2015

Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2012

November 15, 2012

Don't miss it

Benediction (2021)
Film Review

Benediction (2021) — Film Review

May 19, 2022
Top 100 Greatest Movies Films
Spotlight

100 Greatest Movies (and 50 Honorable Mentions)

May 20, 2022
The Innocents (2021) – Film Review
Film Review

The Innocents (2021) – Film Review

May 17, 2022
Father Stu (2022) – Film Review
Film Review

Father Stu (2022) – Film Review

May 12, 2022
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Film Review

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) — Film Review

May 11, 2022
The Takedown (2022) – Film Review
Film Review

The Takedown (2022) – Film Review

May 9, 2022
flickfeast

Whetting your appetite for cinema with the best film reviews and features since 2009

© Copyright - flickfeast. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Festivals
  • FrightFeast
  • Spotlight
  • Contribute

© Copyright - flickfeast. All Rights Reserved.

Posting....