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Catherine
Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Beart, Fanny Ardant,
Virginie Ledoyen |
Directed
by: Francois Ozon
Written by: Francois Ozon, Marina De Van, Robert Thomas
Produced by: Olivier Delbosc
Distributor: Focus Features (USA Films) |
US:
20/09/02 UK: 26/11/02 |
A French musical comedy about a dead man and eight women.
When a rich man is found dead, his former and current
ladies all become suspects of the crime. Set in an isolated
mansion in the snowy countryside of 1950s France...the
family is gathered for the holiday season, but there
will be no celebration! Their 'beloved' patriarch has
been murdered and the killer must be one of the eight
women closest to the man of the house. Each is a suspect,
each has a motive, each has a secret. Only one is guilty.
We think! |
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Murderous
French women have a ball together.
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Writer-director
Francois Ozon goes all Technicolor on us with this vivid,
stylized all-female 1950s musical-comedy whodunit. It's a
strange brew--not completely successful, but still quite entertaining.
We're in an isolated French manor house, where the eldest
daughter (Ledoyen) has just returned home for Christmas from
her studies in London; her younger sister (Sagnier) is glad
to have her back after all she's had to put up with at home.
Their glamorous mother (Deneuve) is the grand dame of the
household, always bickering with her uptight sister (Huppert)
and their cranky mother (Darrieux). Father is still asleep,
or so they think. He's actually been stabbed in the back.
Everyone is a suspect, including father's estranged wild-child
sister (Ardant), the seasoned housekeeper (Richard) and especially
the new maid (Beart). Everyone is lying. Everyone had a motive
and an opportunity to wield the fatal knife.
While the colours and amazing costumes make this feel almost
like a spoof of 1950s-style movies, the plot, sets and direction
hark back to the story's origin as a stage play. The action
is confined to the main room of the house (with only a few
token cutaways), and each actress gets to shine in a scene
of her own, complete with a big musical number. As the story
unravels, there are so many twists and turns that it's often
quite funny to keep track of shifting loyalties and liaisons.
The actresses all light up the screen and hold our attention,
even though they play their roles like amateur drama queens!
There's no way to pick a stand-out--this is a true ensemble
film, although Huppert plays furthest from type; her prim
red-head is a hilariously pinched bundle of nerves and barely
repressed bitterness. And while the film is thoroughly enjoyable
as a comedy-mystery, it's more frustrating as an examination
of women and society. All attempts at serious commentary are
undermined by goofiness in the writing or direction, and by
the end the film can actually be seen as anti-feminist! There's
just enough of a hint at something interesting beneath the
surface to make you wish Ozon had actually had the nerve to
really go for it. i |
N/A
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