Although
FEMME FATALE ($27) purports to be an homage to the film noir genre
of yesterday, this film is seems to have more in common with director
Brian DePalma’s earlier Hitchcock influenced work. There is a genuine
sense of familiarity in FEMME FATALE, as though we’ve seen this
some of this imagery before in films like DePalma’s SISTERS, DRESSED
TO KILL and BODY DOUBLE. To be honest, there were things that I
very much liked about FEMME FATALE and others that I wished could
have been a whole lot better. The eye candy quotient of FEMME FATALE
rates quite highly, especially the film’s luscious cinematography and
even more luscious leading lady Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (John, if you are
reading this, you are one lucky SOB). As for the film’s convoluted plot,
I could have done without some of the preposterous shenanigans the DePalma
tries to get away with in his screenplay.
FEMME
FATALE opens well enough with a very stylish jewel heist that takes
place at the Cannes Film Festival. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos portrays Laure, a
thief who masquerades as a photographer to lures a beautiful model into
the ladies room, where she seduces and strips her of millions of dollars
worth of diamonds. Unfortunately, the jewel heist doesn’t come off as
expected, which forces Laure to go into hiding by assuming the identity of
a distraught woman, who commits suicide. Seven years pass and Laure is
living as Lily- the wife of an American diplomat, who has been assigned to
the Paris office. Enter paparazzi photographer Nicolas Bardo (Antonio
Banderas), who snaps a picture of the Ambassador’s camera shy wife,
which leads him into a web of deceit and murder. It seems that the
recently published photo draws the attention of Laure’s cast off
accomplices, who come looking for revenge and their share of the stolen
diamonds. The cast of FEMME FATALE also features Peter Coyote, Eriq
Ebouaney, Edouard Montoute, Rie Rasmussen, Thierry Frémont and Gregg
Henry.
Warner
Home Video has made FEMME FATALE available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. No ands, ifs or buts about it- this is a great looking transfer.
The image on the DVD is very crisp and highly defined, which brings out
even the smallest of details. Colors are generally vibrant and tend to
favor the warmer side of the spectrum. Flesh tones are always appealing
and the color reproduction is free from chroma noise or signs of smearing.
Blacks are deep and velvety, while the whites appear clean and completely
stable. Shadow detail is very good, plus the image produces a nice
dimensional quality. Although there are a number of dark scenes in FEMME
FATALE, there is very little by way of a noticeable grain structure in
the presentation. Digital compression artifacts remain well concealed
throughout.
FEMME
FATALE comes with a very nice sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack. Fidelity is truly excellent when it comes to reproducing
Ryuichi Sakamoto score, which has an excellent sense of musical presence.
However, those expecting an aggressively mixed soundtrack will be somewhat
disappointed by FEMME FATALE. For the most par the sound designers
take a subtle and subdued approach to the mix, keeping things clean
sounding and utilizing the soundstage to create an ambient sense of space.
The film’s score is the sound component most frequently integrated into
the outlying channels, although the track does tend to favor the forward
soundstage. Dialogue is always cleanly rendered, with excellent
intelligibility. The bass channel is fairly solid, enhancing both music
and sound effects. A French 5.1 channel track is also encoded onto the
DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the interactive menus.
Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and set
up features, as well as the DVD’s supplemental materials. Visualizing
Femme Fatale is an eleven-minute program that features interviews
with Brian DePalma and the films leading players, with the director
talking about how he brought his artistic vision for the movie to life. Femme
Fatale: An Appreciation runs shy of twenty-five minutes and looks
at the technical side of the film’s production. Femme Fatale:
Dressed to Kill is two minutes more of Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (not
that I mind) and how her appearance changes over the course of the movie. Behind
The Scenes is a standard five minute PR piece that offers little
more than a retread of things covered in the other programs. Selective
cast & crew filmographies, as well as American and French theatrical
trailers close out the supplements.
While
not perfect, FEMME FATALE offers enough to make it of interest to
Brian DePalma and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos fans. As for the DVD, it looks
great and sounds quite good, so there won’t be any complaints on that
front.
Although
FEMME FATALE ($27) purports to be an homage to the film noir genre
of yesterday, this film is seems to have more in common with director
Brian DePalma’s earlier Hitchcock influenced work. There is a genuine
sense of familiarity in FEMME FATALE, as though we’ve seen this
some of this imagery before in films like DePalma’s SISTERS, DRESSED
TO KILL and BODY DOUBLE. To be honest, there were things that I
very much liked about FEMME FATALE and others that I wished could
have been a whole lot better. The eye candy quotient of FEMME FATALE
rates quite highly, especially the film’s luscious cinematography and
even more luscious leading lady Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (John, if you are
reading this, you are one lucky SOB). As for the film’s convoluted plot,
I could have done without some of the preposterous shenanigans the DePalma
tries to get away with in his screenplay.
FEMME
FATALE opens well enough with a very stylish jewel heist that takes
place at the Cannes Film Festival. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos portrays Laure, a
thief who masquerades as a photographer to lures a beautiful model into
the ladies room, where she seduces and strips her of millions of dollars
worth of diamonds. Unfortunately, the jewel heist doesn’t come off as
expected, which forces Laure to go into hiding by assuming the identity of
a distraught woman, who commits suicide. Seven years pass and Laure is
living as Lily- the wife of an American diplomat, who has been assigned to
the Paris office. Enter paparazzi photographer Nicolas Bardo (Antonio
Banderas), who snaps a picture of the Ambassador’s camera shy wife,
which leads him into a web of deceit and murder. It seems that the
recently published photo draws the attention of Laure’s cast off
accomplices, who come looking for revenge and their share of the stolen
diamonds. The cast of FEMME FATALE also features Peter Coyote, Eriq
Ebouaney, Edouard Montoute, Rie Rasmussen, Thierry Frémont and Gregg
Henry.
Warner
Home Video has made FEMME FATALE available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. No ands, ifs or buts about it- this is a great looking transfer.
The image on the DVD is very crisp and highly defined, which brings out
even the smallest of details. Colors are generally vibrant and tend to
favor the warmer side of the spectrum. Flesh tones are always appealing
and the color reproduction is free from chroma noise or signs of smearing.
Blacks are deep and velvety, while the whites appear clean and completely
stable. Shadow detail is very good, plus the image produces a nice
dimensional quality. Although there are a number of dark scenes in FEMME
FATALE, there is very little by way of a noticeable grain structure in
the presentation. Digital compression artifacts remain well concealed
throughout.
FEMME
FATALE comes with a very nice sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack. Fidelity is truly excellent when it comes to reproducing
Ryuichi Sakamoto score, which has an excellent sense of musical presence.
However, those expecting an aggressively mixed soundtrack will be somewhat
disappointed by FEMME FATALE. For the most par the sound designers
take a subtle and subdued approach to the mix, keeping things clean
sounding and utilizing the soundstage to create an ambient sense of space.
The film’s score is the sound component most frequently integrated into
the outlying channels, although the track does tend to favor the forward
soundstage. Dialogue is always cleanly rendered, with excellent
intelligibility. The bass channel is fairly solid, enhancing both music
and sound effects. A French 5.1 channel track is also encoded onto the
DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the interactive menus.
Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and set
up features, as well as the DVD’s supplemental materials. Visualizing
Femme Fatale is an eleven-minute program that features interviews
with Brian DePalma and the films leading players, with the director
talking about how he brought his artistic vision for the movie to life. Femme
Fatale: An Appreciation runs shy of twenty-five minutes and looks
at the technical side of the film’s production. Femme Fatale:
Dressed to Kill is two minutes more of Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (not
that I mind) and how her appearance changes over the course of the movie. Behind
The Scenes is a standard five minute PR piece that offers little
more than a retread of things covered in the other programs. Selective
cast & crew filmographies, as well as American and French theatrical
trailers close out the supplements.
While
not perfect, FEMME FATALE offers enough to make it of interest to
Brian DePalma and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos fans. As for the DVD, it looks
great and sounds quite good, so there won’t be any complaints on that
front.
