Femme Fatale

Plot synopsis:
Mercenary thief Laure Ash (Rebecca Romijn) participates in a diamond heist at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival in France. The plan is for Laure to steal a necklace of valuable diamonds from the ensemble of a female attendant named Veronica (Rie Rasmussen). Posing as a French photojournalist, Laure gains access to the festival gathering where she lures Veronica to the ladies room where she begins to seduce her in a stall, during which Laure's two accomplices "Black Tie" (Eriq Ebouaney) and Racine (Édouard Montrouge), plus a janitor co-conspirator, provide various support; while Black Tie, disguised as a security guard, subdues Veronica's bodyguards he sneaks into the ladies room and takes the diamonds as Laure removes them off Veronica and drops them on the floor where Black Tie puts them in a bag and replaces them with glass replicants, while Racine, dressed as another security guard, monitors the events from outside the ladies room. When the deception is discovered, Laure instead double-crosses her accomplices and escapes to Paris with the diamonds. Black Tie tries to stop her but gets shot by a security guard and gets arrested.In Paris, Racine persues Laure and tries to catch her to get her to reveal where she has hidden the diamonds. Through a series of events, Laure escapes to a country house where she is mistaken for her own doppelgänger, a missing Parisian woman named "Lily" (also portrayed by Romijn) who had recently disappeared. While Laure luxuriates in a tub in Lily's parents home, the real Lily returns and commits suicide while Laure secretly watches, leaving Laure the opportunity to take her identity for good and leave the country to America. On the plane to the USA, Laure meets a man seated next to her whom she introduces herself as her her alias Lily.Seven years later, Laure (still in her identity as "Lily") resurfaces in Paris as the wife of Bruce Watts, the new American ambassador to France (Peter Coyote). After arriving in France, a Spanish paparazzo named Nicolas Bardo (Antonio Banderas) takes her picture. The picture is displayed around Paris, and Black Tie (recently paroled from prison) spots Bardo's photo while in the middle of killing Veronica by throwing her into the path of a speeding truck. With Laure exposed to her two vengeful ex-accomplishes, she decides to frame Bardo for her own (staged) kidnapping so she can claim a ransom that Bruce will pay for her release and flee Paris once again to begin a new idenity. Bardo is further manipulated by Laure into following through with the "kidnapping", and in the process, they begin a sexual relationship.The pair eventually meet with Bruce for an exchange on a bride on the Saine, however, Bardo has a crisis of conscience at the last moment and sabotages the scheme instead of killing Bruce. In retaliation, Laure executes both Bardo and Bruce, only to be surprised by her ex-accomplices afterward, whom promptly beat her up and throw Laure off a bridge to her seeming death in the river below....However, in an extended twist ending, the entirety of the movie's events after Laure enters the bathtub in Lily's home rewind and are revealed to be a dream or premonition of the entire seven years. Laure suddenly finds herself back in the bathtub at Lily's parents house where she is shocked to find herself back to where she began her new life. Laura spies Lily entering the home as before, but this time she stops her from committing suicide and gives Laura her plane ticket to America and tells her to rebuild a new life for herself there.Seven years later in Paris, Laure and Veronica, who is revealed to have been Laure's partner/lover all along, chat about the success of their diamond caper. All of a sudden, Black Tie and Racine arrive seeking revenge, but by a twist of fate, they are killed by the same truck that killed Veronica in Laure's alternate reality. Bardo, witnessing all these events, introduces himself to Laure, swearing that he has met her before, with Laure replying "Only in my dreams".

Tags: cult, suspenseful, murder, flashback

Review:
Brian De Palma's 'Femme Fatale' is pure movie-making.
Not if you love a film that embraces the visual splendour and techniques that make cinema a unique art form.Femme Fatale sees De Palma returning to his forte: the suspense thriller.
His first original screenplay in 10 years, De Palma writes a tightly-plotted tale that certainly does not lead the audience by the hand, and the resulting twists it provides will allow different perspectives on the film's events with repeat viewings.Antonio Banderas - usually lost without cause if not working with Robert Rodriguez - does what he needs to do with efficiency; Romijn-Stamos, the Femme Fatale of the title, provides the eye candy.
And that is good: a director should never be an autonomous entity, happy to turn out derivative drivel that get the masses in and out - directors for hire are too commonplace in Hollywood today - and that is something that De Palma could never be accused of.Femme Fatale is a great example of a director working in a genre he loves and understands, and given the freedom to create.
21 years before, "Blow Out", De Palma's most transparent reference to cinema craftsmanship and the relations between cinema and reality, and, what is most important, to cinema as knowledge (or even revelation), merged from an almost hopeless vision of the world: at the end of the film, Jack Terry, the character played by Travolta, had found the truth, but the price he paid for it is loneliness and madness maybe (just like Hackman at the end of Coppola's "The Conversation"); revelation is for him a sort of curse as he lost his second chance (one of the director's recurrent themes) as far as reality made the grade with its web of lies and corruption.
(And those who wonder about the snake, read the Bible --Genesis.) At the very beginning of the movie, Laure's reflection on the tv screen reunites she and Barbara Stanwyck as the summa and the evolution of the femme fatale kind of character.
But De Palma uses it masterfully, because dream is not a solution but a way: there are ten minutes of movie left after it to give that "dream strategy" a new sense and a justification that any film ever gave.
De Palma, at the end of the film, tell us: that is what cinema is made of -different scenes shot under diverse lights in separate times, joined under one look and put together to make sense.
This is clearly shown at the start of the movie from the shot where Rebecca Romijn Stamos is sat on a bed, watching the classic noir; Double Indemnity.
To pull off a twist like the one in this film, the storyteller needs to be talented enough to not make the audience demand their money back when the movie finishes.
When the twist first hit, my eyes were starting to role but credit has to be given to De Palma because even though the twist he's working with is silly, he manages to bring the film to a close which wraps it up, and does tie all the loose ends together.
The film also would have been much better with a different male lead than Antonio Bandaras, someone who could speak English so people could understand him!With Brian De Palma directing, you get some stylish camera shots in here, so it's a good visual movie....a lot more than just girl-watching.
Those where all films that require the viewer to participate, use their brain and have a good time.Brian De Palma is a master filmmaker.
The attention to detail in the opening and all through out is what makes the film great, you will watch this over and over and catch something new on each viewing.Some have argued that De Palma is not an autuer, but indeed he is.
Also the slow motion is used to perfection here at critical times, unlike Micheal Bay who uses it to make things look pretty.This is a great film, yes, it takes some suspension of disbelief but that is why its a movie.
Just when you thought Brian De Palma had got as low as he could, along comes Femme Fatale, a film so bad it's quite brilliant.
If you thought previous efforts like Raising Cain and Body Double reached new levels of absurdity, trust me they were just dress rehearsals for Femme Fatale.Any film which has in its opening moments a lesbian sex scene combined with a jewellery heist in the toilets of the Cannes Film Festival surely signals more bad taste scenes to come, and yes ole Brian doesn't disappoint.
The longer the film went on the more the audience laughed, with dialogue usually reserved for porn films - " I don't want you to kiss my ass, just f*** it' - you know you're onto a winner.The final 15 minutes provided more laughs than any comedy for many a year, surely De Palma's career can only go in one direction, it can't get much lower than this - can it?I have to give Femme Fatale ten out of ten for all the wrong reasons - truly a classic..
Every single camera shot has a meaning to it, and this film as many of De Palma's classic camera styles, such as split screen slow motion action sequences, long takes before a disaster occurs etc.A lot of the talent behind this movie also comes from the cast.
Those who have seen the movie would know what I'm talking about).Also, one there's one pretty major problem with the heist at the beginning, but you don't really notice it when you're watching(I only picked it up after my fifth viewing of it).Also,Femme Fatale wouldn't be the same were it not for the film's sweeping and riveting score, which sets the slightly mystical yet mysterious tone for the film.Overall, a top-notch De Palma classic, although no-lovers of Brian De Palma may not appreciate it in it's full brilliance.
Since De Palma directed the debacle that was Mission Impossible, it seemed like a genius director has lost it all but this latest movie by the "new Hitchcock" is perhaps one of his strongest since "Carlito's Way" and the masterpiece "Body Double".
The story itself is quite simple : during the filmfestival of Cannes is a bunch of diamonds stolen but then the fun begins...you really have to be attentive during the whole movie as every minute De Palma puts you on a wrong foot just like we're used to by the master of the black thrillers...
The movie leaves a messy, confusing impression afterward, which is simply due to the poor written story that 'tries too hard to be difficult' at times.For De Palma fans it simply still remains a must see but everyone else can better skip this one, or should stop watching after the 'Cannes' opening sequence.4/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
Filmmaker Brian DePalma once again goes to the Hitchcockian well one time too often in this dreadfully listless and incredibly pedestrian thriller' about a bad French girl (Romijn-Stamos doing a killer Sharon Stone cum Grace Kelly turn) whose identity as a criminal threatens to be usurped when she attempts a change in life by marrying a wealthy American diplomat  and photographer Banderas (in one of his worst displays of acting) as the patsy she becomes embroiled with involving murder, blackmail and mistaken identity.
Retracing every cliché of film noir (vouyerism, femme fatales etc)from his own body of work (Body Double, Dressed to Kill), this feels like leftovers from De Palmas's fridge, well past its sell-by-date.
Femme Fatale is high grade stuff if one is either a De Palma fan or a lover of film noir.
Conversely if these two things don't tick your film loving boxes then the law of averages suggests you should have - or should - stayed/stay away from it.De Palma opens up the doors to his fun house and invites noir lovers to come on in and enjoy.
In truth the story and set-up is predictable, but the journey is what makes the pic ooze quality and bare faced cheek, with the director giggling away like a schoolgirl in the background.Opening up with a sequence that sees our titular fatale (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) watching famed noir classic Double Indemnity, De Palma proceeds to homage and love the film noir world.
The opening shot/scene is an eye-opener that makes a great re-creation of Cannes from last year (though East-West, the movie shown within the movie, was at Cannes in 1999), and throughout, DePalma has a breathtaking visual sweep again, like in his earlier films; his last three films (Mission Impossible, Snake Eyes, Mission to Mars) were mediocre at best and at worst awful.
The woman (or women) is played by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, a hot firecracker of a babe who is in hiding after a jewel robbery, who has more hiding in herself as well.However, despite this being a cinema-verite type thriller with Mamet-esquire plot turns, the ending is a downer on a first viewing and had me turned off to see it again for a while (is it even needed, despite its connection to genre, one might ask).
As a loyal admirer of De Palma's previous world since Carrie or Phantom in Paradise, I felt terrible disappointed on the absurdity and mediocrity of his latest work FEMME FATALE.The story is so absurd and the characters so shallow defined, that there is no suspense; the bad guys has no presence or strength and there is only one good persons who is not even a secondary character (how could you care for the good husband if he is only shown in one 30 seconds scene, not even a close-up, with two lines of dialog).
Banderas has enough charisma to give some sympathy to a paparazzi with a never explained past, and Romijn- Stamos has some screen presence (which you could appreciate better in the X-MEN movies) but characters behavior have no explanation or reason there is no much they can do here.
That sounds like a tired pickup line, but it is significant to this movie in a way that cannot be explained without giving away the plot.I watched this to see Rie Rasmussen's (Angel-A) debut film.
This was Rebecca Romijn's and Antonio Banderas' film, and they did a great job of keeping me interested throughout.But, it is really Brian De Palma's film.
The story is a convoluted mess in which De Palma plays with the time domain, a cheap movie making ploy, punctuated with some gratuitous sexiness, violence, and serious silliness all serving to blow holes through the film's credibility.
De Palma's is an original story, not a retelling with an obligatory twist.Americans seem not to know what to do with deliberately artificial fare like Femme Fatale or, for that matter, Eyes Wide Shut.
Depalma both loves and laughs at Hollywood movies.Femme Fatale begins with a jewel heist that takes place in the midst of the Cannes Festival.
Ultimately he does and her picture is plastered on billboards all over France, putting Laurie's life in grave danger.Similar themes that exist in earlier Depalma films find their way into Femme Fatale, particularly the theme of "the double," in which there is either a case of mistaken identity, twin siblings with opposite personalities, or a character suffering from multiple personality order, as was the case in Body Double, Sisters, and Dressed to Kill, respectively.
He always seems to confound the viewer with plot twists (Body Double) and he does it one better here - Brian rewinds the film about 2/3's of the way through and gives you a whole new ending!
Antonio Banderas also gives a very strong performance as Nicolas Bardo, the retired photographer who is unwillingly caught in Laure's web of crime.If you are looking for a great time at the movies, look no further than FEMME FATALE.
Rebecca Romjin-Stamos is doing one of the best model-gone-big screen-jobs of the last couple of years, while her opponent Eriq Ebouaney (the black guy in the suit) is having a pretty tough time trying to look like Samuel L.
However, what you get during these two hours is a piece of mildly engaging erotic fluff, nonsensical as ever but not without some rewards: firstly, Rebecca Romijn is an unusually photogenic woman, has an interesting and occasionally even stirring screen presence, of which she has more than enough to carry the film comfortably, the camera loving her all the way.
Brian DePalma + Rebecca Romijn & Antonio Banderas = One of the most seductive, entertaining and riveting movies i have ever had the opportunity to lay my eyes on.
A woman (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) tries to straighten out her life, even as her past as a con-woman comes back to haunt her.The highlight of this film is the gay Antonio Banderas.
I do not think you have ever seen it before this or since (though I would love to be corrected).Roger Ebert says, "This is a movie about watching and being watched, about seeing and not knowing what you see." De Palma is known for his theme of voyeurism, and there is that aspect here: not only are we voyeurs to the film, but one of the main characters takes photographs of people who would rather remain private.Ebert also says, "Romijn-Stamos ...
On the one hand it rightly praises Romijn-Stamos (this is her best role), but also has that reminder that many people see De Palma as derivative of Hitchcock (among others) and not necessarily in a complimentary way.We also have his split-screen, which has been used in more than a few of De Palma's films ("Blow Out" and "Phantom of the Paradise" immediately come to mind).
To me, it's just another showy piece from De Palma.The opening scene brings to mind immediately two things about Snake Eye: Sakamoto's music and the one continues shot following Nicholas Cage wriggling through numerous sets, lasting for maybe ten/fifteen minutes (and that is a masterpiece).Here, the alternate version of Bolero takes you through another long (but less impressive) opening scene, with the characteristic erotic element that promises for more to come.
Still, it is a good movie, DePalma's best since 1993's "Carlito's Way."  DePalma shows of his visual storytelling prowess in the films opening heist scene, which is exhilerating.
I speculate that those who loathed Mulholland Drive will be quite satisfied with Femme Fatale.While Rebecca Romijn-Stamos did a fine job in her role, the true surprise was discovering that Antonio Banderas really can act.
All this being said, Femme Fatale' isnowhere near to being a masterpiece, but it is indeed a step in the rightdirection for our newly rediscovered Director.De Palma wrote and lensed Femme Fatale' in a no-holds barred manner.There are enough plot twists and turns to outdo a roller coaster and while the acting is a tad on the shady side, De Palma compensates with some stunningvisuals courtesy of Cinematographer Thierry Arbogast (The Professional, TheFifth Element) and a visceral score by  Ryuichi Sakamoto (The Last Emperor,Snake Eyes).Starring Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in a cataclysmic career turn and the genericAntonio Banderas who always strokes his hair to the back of his head, DePalma's script manages to make these two tepid characters actually watchableas he unravels a crafty and witty film filled with plot holes and irregularities.
One only has to study the dialogue (watch for Romijn-Stamos'dialogue with Banderas when they are about to have anal sex) and they willknow De Palma was going for a different type of film noir.
In a nutshell, the film is worth a look due to its' elevated filmmaking from De Palma and any movie that stars a generic Banderas that is actually watchablemust be well made.
This film is not even saved by the actors : Rebecca Romijn-Stamos seems to want to prove that she has a great body and can make use of it, and Antonio Banderas was probably asleep most of the time, just waiting to cash in the final cheque.
However director Brian De Palma reworked preoccupationsborrowed from Hitchcock, the French New Wave, and his ownearlier work into an erotic thriller whose complex puzzle pieces all,by movie's end, fit together seamlessly, is itself a mystery.
`Femme Fatale' is a maddening movie in that it makes you think you're watching a bad film - one filled with preposterous plot twists, implausible coincidences and logical fallacies - only to discover about two-thirds of the way through that there actually is a method to the filmmaker's madness.
The filmmaker in this case is Brian De Palma who continues his fascination with body doubles, telling the tale of a beautiful French woman named Laure who makes off with the booty from a heist gone wrong (a theft done at the Cannes Film Festival, no less) leaving her accomplices empty-handed and lusting for revenge.
But life can be a tricky business at times, and Laure finds herself back in Paris seven years later (actually 2008) with a number of scores still to be settled.For most of the film's duration, the plot is so preposterous and goofy that it plays more like a PARODY of a De Palma (and by extension, of course, Hitchcock) work than a straightforward mystery film in its own right.
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is slinky and sexy as the `bad girl' Laure and Antonio Banderas is nicely put-upon and befuddled as the photographer who gets pulled into her web of deception.`Femme Fatale' will probably irritate most viewers up until the point where the surprise twist occurs.
Have just watched Femme Fatale on DVD and thought it was fantastic.I notice alot of reviews say he is ripping off Hitchcock etc but what else do you expect from a De Palma film?
Overall, this represents some of Depalmas best work as a director.The twist in the film reminded me way too much of David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.
Critic and audience reaction to this incredibly stylish erotic thriller explains why filmmakers do that.Femme Fatale is at its heart, a movie about fate, which poses the question in the opening scene: What would it take to make a "bad girl" turn around?