Venus in Fur (2014)

Roman Polanski's "Venus in Fur" (should be plural, I think) is a wonderful movie which riveted this viewer from start to finish. It is the movie "La Vénus à la Fourrure" with English subtitles. It contains the essence of the novel by Sacher-Masoch within the play by David Ives as adapted for the screen by David Ives and Roman Polanski. The script is great. The acting is fabulous. This movie, containing much irony, much satire, yet retains within it a loyalty to the original novel, "Venus in Furs" by Leopold Sacher-Masoch, which in itself is a riveting but deadly serious portrayal of gender relations in a dominance- submission context. Emmanuelle Seigner plays Vanda Jourdain, an aspiring but so far unsuccessful actress. Mathieu Amalric plays Thomas Novachek, an intellectual playwright who has written a play adapting the Sacher-Masoch novel, and now is attempting to direct his play. He has spent the day unsuccessfully auditioning actresses for the part of Vanda Von Dunayev. When Novachek is completely ready to call it a day, Vanda Jourdain enters the theater and somehow convinces Novachek to let her audition for the role. She also convinces him to play the part of Severin (the submissive). In fact, the audition becomes a rehearsal of the play. One of the interests in watching the movie is wondering how much of the character of Severin is part of the character of the playwright Novachek himself. And I think even more significant is wondering how much of the character of Vanda Von Dunayev (the dominant) is part of the character of the real life Vanda Jourdain. It's ambiguous. And therein lies its fascination. (This is the first review that I have done for IMDb.com. I don't know whether I've said too much or not.)

I fund myself sort of dozing off at certain scenes in the film. Whether it was due to a failure of the film or that I was just really tired when i saw it, is anyone's guess. But I had still enjoyed most of it, and once the final act came on, I knew I was watching something special. The performances are exquisite, especially Seigner who I'm sure people who've seen the play will be more than delighted. The final ten minus take on this really dark tone that's completely enthralling, and I should've known where the film was heading. By the time I did, I immediately wanted to rematch the film for more nuances, and as it is right now, I'm sure I will in he near future. Really well- done film.

Venus in Fur, adapted from a play that couldn't be more made for a play originally than if it was just actors reading from a script (no wait, they do that here, don't they) is, frankly, good but minor Polanski. It's never less than entertaining, and it has engaging performances by the director'ss surrogate Matthieu Almaric (seriously, doesn't he look like him more than a bit?) and his wife, who is so incredibly spot-on at being seductive and crazy and smart as a whip and ahead of the game, Emmanuelle Seigner.It also has an ending that is as unforgettably deranged as its brother movie ending from the director, The Tenant. And why is it minor? For me, it just felt kind of a shallow experience, not very deep, and the back and forth motions as to who is the Dom and who is the Sub (in sex but also power terms) moment to moment gets frustrating at times. And, yes, the cinematography of course is intense and this filmmaker is nothing if not a master of having a couple of people in a room and making it cinematic for an hour and a half and change. Perhaps it just reminds one of other, greater Polanski work a little too much.However, certainly for fans of high heels and silk stockings it's really something!

The movie is set in an empty theater during a night storm. Vanda wants to audition for the female role in the play "La Vénus à la fourrure". Thomas, author and director, reluctant at first, end up being dragged by the ambiguous personality of the woman. She seems out of place: dressed inappropriately and easy-minded but she is just perfect for the role. Vanda and Thomas start rehearsing and they interrupt each other to discuss the characters and the storyline. Vanda repeatedly accuses Thomas to have chosen a sexist subject. The setting estranges both the two characters and the public, also with the help of the screenplay's rhythm, which alternates reality and the actual play.It's a movie that opens up a great number of themes regarding the relationship between man and woman.