PASSION DVD (2013)

SYNOPSIS: An intense power struggle between an icy advertising executive and her timid assistant turns deadly in director Brian De Palma's stylish remake of Alain Corneau's Love Crime (2010). A cultivated beauty with expensive tastes and a serious kinky streak, Christine holds a top office at one of the world's biggest international advertising agencies. She didn't get ahead by shrinking into the shadows so when her coy but incredibly creative assistant Isabelle dreams up a wildly popular marketing campaign, Christine takes full credit for the idea. Simultaneously repulsed and intrigued by her boss' shameless candour over the incident, Isabelle ignites an all-out war by sleeping with Christine's lover. Later, when Christine turns up dead after humiliating her assistant in front of an entire company, the perceptive Inspector Bach struggles to sort through the clues as Isabelle grows increasingly unstable and her story seems to change with each new interview.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The marketing team tried their very best to sell this as an erotic-lesbianism thriller but Passion is just a cheap exploitation flick that generates little steam and mystery.

A remake of Alain Corneau’s Love Crime, Passion tells the story of a top advertising exec Christine (Rachel McAdams) and her assistant, Isabelle (Noomi Rapace). Christine is a manipulative, scheming and sultry woman who loves kinky sex or for lack of a better word, a BITCH. After taking credit for Isabelle’s idea and humiliating her in front of the company, Christine is found mysteriously dead. Based on initial superficial clues, Isabelle is being suspected of murder. Is Isabelle truly the murderer? Or is it Christine’s boyfriend, Dirk or could it be Isabelle’s assistant, Dani?  

It’s a surprise that one of the most lauded directors of all time, Brian De Palma is responsible for this atrociously boring movie. To go back to his roots of doing a psychological thriller seems like a bad idea. To watch it materializes on the screen is even worse. The first hour details the cunning characteristics of Christine. And do you know Christine and Isabelle actually shared the same boyfriend? Of course it’s refreshing to watch the usual sweet demure McAdams acting like a slut and Noomi Rapace acting all stressed out and crashing her car into a vending machine. Unfortunately the two ladies failed to salvage the sinking mess.

Without any hint, the movie proceeds into a whodunit mystery thriller in the last 30 minutes. Discarding all the prior corporate backstabbing and introducing his trademark spilt screen and a rush Hitchcock ending to the affair, Passion is narratively incompetent proving the veteran director has indeed lost his magical filmmaking touches in the last decade.  

Whether it’s intentional or not, the music cues sound so dated and irritable. The bizarre mask wearing antics only provides a silly topic to discuss during supper. And the entire movie is shot like a trashy old-fashioned thriller that is far suited to be watch in the eighties than the year 2014. This is not a so-bad-it’s-good movie, it’s plain bad and macabre.  

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD looks fine equipped with a low-key 2.0 soundtrack which works absolutely fine considering the material. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee