Movie Review - Venus in Fur

Venus in Fur (La Vénus à la fourrure) (2014)

Starring Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric

Directed by Roman Polanski

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Venus in Fur is a movie based on a 2010 play in which a playwright is holding auditions on a stage for a play he has written based on author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's book Venus in Furs.  Confused yet?  That's kind of the point of director Roman Polanski's film as he blurs the lines between fiction and reality and whether the written word can have effects on real life.  While I'm not sure the film is entirely successful (some of which stems from the fact that it's in French and mutes some of the emphasizing of important philosophically wordy elements of the script for us English speakers), it's an interesting look at a small and very specific battle of the sexes.

Thomas Novacheck (Mathieu Amalric) has just written a new play based on the aforementioned Sacher-Masoch's book.  If you look at that author's name close enough, you'll realize that the term "masochism" is derived from it which gives us a slight idea into just the kind of play Novacheck has written.  When Vanda (Emmanuelle Seigner) arrives to the auditions late, her brash personality instantly wins over Thomas who was more than ready to call it a day after seeing tens of women who did not fit the play's female role.  At first, Vanda seems a shoo-in for the part, allowing herself to succumb to the desires of the play's protagonist.  However, as the evening continues, Vanda begins to take control of things, attempting to turn the tables on both Sacher-Masoch and Novacheck's idealizations of male domination.

His personal life notwithstanding, I've always found myself a fan of Roman Polanski's work and there is certainly much to admire here.  Taking place all within the confines of a theater and its stage, Polanski keeps things visually appealing, utilizing the camera, lighting, and music to keep the rather simplistic staging invigorating.  Both actors are captivating and while Vanda's motives aren't entirely clear, I have to imagine that this vagueness is what playwright (and co-screenwriter with Polanski) David Ives was attempting when he wrote the original play.  On stage, this ambiguity may have worked a little better, but here it keeps us at a distance from Vanda which seems a bit unfortunate.

Should I watch this again or see this on stage, I think I'd appreciate it much more upon a repeat viewing.  As it stands now, the intricacies of some of the commands, directives, and mandates Vanda places on Thomas were lost on me a bit and, admittedly, became a bit tiresome as the film progressed across its ninety minute run time.  Venus in Fur is an interesting film and one that I'd recommend -- but I'm not sure you'll find it enjoyable.  I'm not entirely sure I did either.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Carnage

Carnage (2011)

Starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, and John C. Reilly

Directed by Roman Polanski

Based off a Tony Award-winning play, Carnage graces us with a quartet of wonderfully talented actors in a showcase for their skills.  However, the film which takes place in real time mostly within the confines of the apartment of Penelope and Michael Longstreet (Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly) should have felt more claustrophobic than director Roman Polanski is able to provide.  It's not that a movie like Carnage which is essentially four people talking with each other for eighty minutes should be "tension-filled", per se, but as the film progresses, there should be an ever-escalating sense of excitement...a building towards something grand at the conclusion.  It's not that the ending of the flick disappoints, but the roller coaster ride the film should have provided was full of too many valleys and not enough hills.

After their two sons get in a tiff on the playground resulting in one striking the other with a stick causing damage to two teeth, the aforementioned Longstreets get together with Nancy and Alan Cowan (Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz) to try and patch things up.  Things begin quite civilly, but it's soon obvious to both parties that despite being on their best behavior, the "adults" here are really just play-acting, trying to put on their best fronts.  As criticisms of the others' parenting skills begin to be bandied about as if they were deadly bullets, the two couples begin to devolve into children fighting on the playground, albeit with a much better vocabulary.

Carnage certainly succeeds because of the four actors onscreen.  The very nature of the project calls for the quartet to be viewed pretty much the entire time (one would assume in the play, the actors would never leave the stage) and each holds their own with no one overshadowing anyone else.  It's always nice to see Jodie Foster onscreen (which actually happened twice this year with this and The Beaver) and here she's at her most neurotic.  It doesn't help her character that John C. Reilly as her husband tries to be the peacemaker rather than stand up for his wife.  If I had to choose a standout star from the bunch, it would have to be Reilly who has the comedic chops for a role like this.  In the end, he seems the most relatable to me (perhaps the reason why I liked him the most) in that, at times, his character appears to spout what the audience is feeling about these childish adults.

Kate Winslet is also wonderful as the uptight Nancy and she works very well with Christoph Waltz who continues to prove that he is quite adept at dark comedy (a category in which one could certainly place 2009's Inglourious Basterds).  Carnage is a film all about about personal interactions and it is pivotal that the cast mesh and flow together which is successfully achieved here.

However, something about the flick doesn't quite click and I have to think the problem lies in the direction since the blame certainly doesn't fall onto the actors.  I have to wonder what this story plays like on a stage where all four actors are present all the time.  In a film, we cut away to certain reactions and only every so often are treated to shots with the entire quartet in our field of vision.  If we had that stage-like ability to constantly be mindful of all four actors, I have to wonder if the edge-of-your-seatness of the "what are they gonna say next" tension inherent in the script would be elevated.  Of course, Roman Polanski wasn't going to shoot the movie with nary a one shot of of an actor, but it simply further goes to prove the difficulty at times of transferring plays to the big screen.

This isn't to say that Carnage is a failure.  It's far from that.  There are many laughs to be had and for sheer acting talent, the film is recommendable.  But if the film has done anything, it's made me desperate to want to see the film performed by a talented stage ensemble (**cough**I'm talking to you, University of Delaware Resident Ensemble Players**cough**).

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Knife in the Water

Knife in the Water (Nóz w wodzie) (1962)

Directed by Roman Polanski

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

This Polish film is inappropriately labeled as suspenseful, an adjective that doesn't fit it at all.  Instead, Knife in the Water is a character study focusing on two males -- one older and one younger and their efforts to win the affections of a young woman.  Perhaps had I gone into it knowing that suspense was not a key characteristic, I may have liked it a little more.  Instead, I can only accept director Roman Polanski's first feature film as a mediocre drama that isn't what I was promised it would be.  (Of course, in the end, that's not really the film's fault, but it's an inevitability that the film itself will take the brunt of the blame.)

Andrezj, an older guy maybe in his mid-40s, is driving to a marina with his young girlfriend Krystyna when he nearly hits a young hitchhiker.  Andrezj agrees to take the hitcher as far as the marina, but when they arrive at their destination, he sees an opportunity -- he'll invite the young man (who remains nameless throughout the film) onto the boat in order to show Krystyna that age has made him wiser than his younger counterpart.  Once out on the water with no means of escape, the hitchhiker realizes that he's essentially a pawn in Andrezj's game and it doesn't sit well with him, so he attempts to twist the game around a bit to prove that Andrezj may not be the best catch for Krystyna.

This has all the makings of a moderately suspenseful plot and the fact that it's directed by Polanski who is well known for some of his more mysterious directorial efforts made me think this movie would certainly veer in that direction.  It doesn't.  Instead, it's simply these three actors talking for ninety minutes (and, oddly enough, the Criterion Collection stream of this movie doesn't subtitle everything that they say which was incredibly weird at times).  Granted, I didn't dislike what they were talking about, but I never really feel like the film had any bit of dramatic tension...and I'm not talking about suspense when I speak of "dramatic tension."  I'm just talking about an arc in the story...that inevitable peak that all movies reach in which we know a resolution is forthcoming.  That never really happened here.  

Yes, it's well directed and shot (it takes place nearly all on a small boat and Polanski had quite a remarkable eye for good mise-en-scene even in his first film).  It's got a pretty great jazz score by Krzysztof  Komeda.  There's a remarkably sexy kissing scene that for some reason or other is one of the most effective cinematic kisses I've ever witnessed.  However, Knife in the Water doesn't flow like it should...instead it simply treads water for most of its runtime and for that reason I really can't recommend it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Repulsion (1965)

Starring Catherine Deneuve
Directed by Roman Polanski

First off...awesome poster to the left. Make fun of my Polish kinfolk all you want, but that's a kick-ass poster we made there.

Unfortunately, the awesome Polish poster is all this movie has going for it. This is one of those insanely weird art-house movies that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sometimes that weird stuff works, but here, it doesn't fully achieve its goal.

The lovely Catherine Deneuve is Carol. The twenty-something lives in an apartment London with her older sister who happens to be dating a married man whom Carol doesn't care for. In the middle of the night, Carol hears her sister having sex with the boyfriend and finds herself sickened by the act. The very act of kissing her (sort of) boyfriend Colin turns her off. It's obvious that something's not 100% right mentally with Carol and when her sister goes away on vacation, Carol's world begins to fall apart. She locks herself in the apartment and begins imagining (or is she?) herself getting raped and abused by men. Fun stuff, huh?

I understand that director Polanski's goal was to lull us at the beginning and ratchet up the tension as the film goes on. However, literally nothing happens in the first hour of this movie. Sure, the audience realizes that Carol's nutty and not exactly socially adept, but I don't need an hour to figure that out. Admittedly, the final 45 minutes, and, in particular the last 25 or so certainly interested me. I was also intrigued by the ending -- I was moderately surprised by the way the film concludes. Not that it's a shocker by any means (nor is it supposed to be), but I didn't expect it to end the way it did.

I've seen a few of Polanski's films at this point and while I may not have liked them all, I've been interested to a certain extent in all of them. He definitely knows how to visually set up shots in quite a beautiful way. That being said, I don't want to be bored for an hour in order to get only a moderate payoff in the end.

The RyMickey Rating: C-