Apparently, Roman Polanski can’t get enough of the theatre. Following Carnage just two years ago, the director has adapted yet another stage play to the silver screen. While it’s fairly obvious where the plot of Venus in Fur is headed after the first act, this is still an interesting, well made and exceptionally acted adaptation.
Featuring a cast of only two performers, the tale follows Thomas (Mathieu Amalric), a director mounting a stage production of the 19th century Leopold von Sacher-Masoch novel Venus in Furs – a book with elements of masochism about a man who obsesses over a woman who doesn’t love him. Frustrated after a grueling day of auditions, the director complains that all the women up for the female lead are flighty, gum-chewing, cell phone obsessed fools lacking the substance and poise to bring the necessary power and sadistic streak to the role.
However, he soon meets his match in Vanda (Emmanuelle Seigner), a woman who characterizes everything he claims to hate about actresses. And despite appearances, she is anything but scatterbrained. Not only does the woman seemingly wander in off of the street and command attention with just a cold read of the script, but she begins to slowly manipulate the director. After a passage of time, Thomas is the one feeling more and more uncomfortable, like she is the one auditioning him.
It’s certainly a tale of role reversal, as Thomas has his position of power slowly undermined over the course of the movie. The movie frequently jumps back and forth between the script and conversation between the characters, paralleling the events and blurring the line between reality and fiction. It’s an interesting technique that forces the attention of viewers to keep up – are the pair discussing their characters in the play, or themselves? Of course, it may be all the more difficult to delineate given that this a subtitled French language movie, but it’s effective none the less.
A story like this hinges on the work of the cast, and the pair are up to the role. In a word, Seigner is magnetic in the lead, veering from ditz to femme fatale on a dime with ease as she prods, questions and frustrates the director. It’s captured in lengthy takes, making the nuances all the more impressive. She appears to be pulling the strings and brings great authority to the role. Amalric also perfectly embodies a director whose written work covers some deep-seated personal issues. At several points in the film, he ends up in a very vulnerable place and the actor makes the bizarre transition convincing.
On a personal level, it isn’t quite as much fun as the conflict-filled Carnage. And, as mentioned previously, it becomes evident where this is all going fairly quickly, so the devilish twist at the end might not have a huge impact on viewers. Regardless, Venus in Fur is a well mounted adaptation that should impress theatergoers thanks to a stunning lead performance from Seigner that captivates from the opening scene until its unique finale.