By Vanessa Chen
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Brian De Palma’s newest movie, “Passion,” promises more playful suspense than it delivers. Situated at an international advertising agency in Berlin, “Passion” explores the relationships between women in the modern corporate world.
After taking credit for worker Isabelle’s (Noomi Rapace) genius idea, Isabelle’s boss Christine (Rachel McAdams) is offered a coveted position at the New York office. At first, Isabelle seems to accept the situation, but when she discovers the agency’s plan to downplay her provocative smartphone campaign, she decides to upload her original video to YouTube first. It becomes an instant success, and the promotion is promptly offered to Isabelle instead—which begins a cut throat rivalry that eventually leads to murder.
The capriciousness of the New York job offer exemplifies the interchangeability between employees in the modern workplace. For many, there’s a constant need to always be the best—even if it comes at the expense of someone else. The three main characters, Christine (the fake blonde), Isabelle (the obsessive brunette), and Dani (the fiery redheaded played by Karoline Herfurth), toy with the idea of traditional stereotypes.
With Isabelle’s character, there’s a noticeable shift in her demeanor when she’s in different situations. With Christine, Isabelle becomes the submissive one, while the roles are reversed when she is with Dani. Through their interactions, De Palma plays with the idea of women in the workplace manipulating each other by any means necessary.
The frightening, yet alluring mask that makes multiple appearances throughout the movie serves as a literal and figurative example of the dishonesty between people in the modern world. The acting and exchanges between the characters are very over-the-top—which may be a stylistic choice on De Palma’s part to emphasize the fakery and the masks people wear in the modern corporate world, but it was rather irritating to sit through.
Being one of the most self-referential directors, De Palma made weighty filmic references to his past films. De Palma enthusiasts will be quick to recognize his classic trademarks in “Passion”: phantasmagoria, voyeurism, surrealism, and, of course, a brilliantly shot murder sequence. His command of visual language is incredibly powerful. The oddball angles and shot compositions bring the viewer into the headspace of the movie—whether it is experiencing Isabelle’s disorientation after taking sleeping pills or the increasing power struggle between the boss and the protégé. He is able to effectively blur the lines between dream state and reality.
In the macabre murder sequence, De Palma uses a split screen shot to juxtapose the beauty of a ballet (played to Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun) to the lurid scene of the murder—one image is about creation, and the other is about destroying.
Unlike in his other films, though, the ultimate reveal at the end was not very surprising—he gave us too many clues.
Although “Passion” may be De Palma’s most aesthetically pleasing movie, it ultimately lacks the substance and suspense from earlier De Palma films like “Dressed to Kill” and “Body Double.” Recommended for De Palma followers.
“Passion” is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YhHeO1BuAI
Directed by Brian De Palma; written by De Palma and Nathalie Carter, based on the French film “Crime d’Amour”; director of photography, José Luis Alcaine; edited by François Gedigier; music by Pino Donaggio; production design by Cornelia Ott; costumes by Karen Muller Serreau; produced by Saïd Ben Saïd; released by eOne Films US. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes.
WITH: Rachel McAdams (Christine Stanford), Noomi Rapace (Isabelle James), Karoline Herfurth (Dani), Paul Anderson (Dirk Harriman) and Rainer Bock (Inspector Bach).
