TV Times

TV Times

‘Femme Fatale’ at Rio
Mission Impossible fame director Brian De Palma's Femme Fatale starring internationally acclaimed Antonio Banderas now screens at Rio Cinema Colombo.

Writer-director Brian De Palma has long been highly regarded for his film making finesse and ability to stimulate and surprise audiences. In addition to his blockbuster action film Mission Impossible, De Palma's diverse catalogue of film credits include the thrillers Dressed to Kill, Sisters, Blow Out and Snake Eyes; the acclaimed police dramas Scarface, The Untouchables and Carlito's Way; and the shocking story of Carrie, which gatherd two Academy Award nominations (Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress).

Laure Ash (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) is a beautiful but mysterious woman who has aligned herself with a small ring of jewel thieves, led by a man known as Black Tie (Eriq Ebouaney), who has planned a major score during the Cannes Film Festival.

Sexy model Veronica (Rie Rasmussen) is scheduled to make a spectacular entrance for the screening of director Regis Wargnier's picture, wearing a body-hugging piece of jewellery worth a cool ten million dollars. Laure approaches the sexually adventurous Veronica and is able to seduce her, while at the same time stealing her diamond-studded outfit and replacing it with a carefully constructed counterfeit. Veronica, however, also makes off the loot without giving her partners their cut, and must go into hiding in order to avoid the wrath of Black Tie and his cohorts.

Fate allows Laure to make her way to the United States, where in time she marries a powerful politician. Photographer Nicolas Bardo (Antonio Banderas), however, had snapped a picture of Laure while she was on the lam years before, and when he takes an assignment to get a photo of the camera-shy woman, Laure realizes Nicolas is in a position to reveal her new identity to the world -- and put the bloodthirsty Black Tie back on her trail.

One of the leading international actors of his generation, Antonio Banderas (Nicolas Bardo), earned critical praise and a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination.

Playing opposite Banderas Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, who made the successful leap from international model to dynamic actress with starring roles in X-Men and Rollerball, completely immersed herself in the role of Laure.

Femme Fatale returns De Palma to his favoured genre with a film that explores revenge and reinvention, flavored with an undercurrent of moral ambiguity and titillating corruption.

Top