Passion (2013)

As Good As It Gets

An Exercise In Nonsense

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Oh dear..... Within 60 seconds of watching I drew the clear conclusion that my time was better spent elsewhere. I am totally puzzled as to what BdeP was looking to achieve; I expected the first scene to close with a TV set being turned off, immediately followed by properly scripted actors mocking the car crash/comedy/amateur hour they had been watching. In dismissing the limp interplay between 2 women and a token boyfriend, the proper cast would then make way for the movie to start in earnest.Amazingly, that first scene set the tone for what was to follow - poor acting, terrible scripting, disjointed pace, lack of narrative, absence of character development, weak storytelling and a general mishmash of locations and scenes that left me thinking this laughable excuse for a movie was nothing more than a Director's self indulgence. At the premiere I can only imagine that a severe case of the emperors new clothes had kicked in whereby no-one dare exhale their sharp intakes of breath in order to share their complete unease and disbelief of what was before their eyes.The central premise is a lesbian laced joust between 2 hollow, privileged females, masquerading as a business power-play carried out in an artificial Berlin society which comes across as completely meaningless. Thus develops a plunge into unfaithfulness, murder and a totally predictable ending.The man who gave us Carrie and Carlito's Way is way off beam here, the $20m budget is a gigantic price for a complete stinker.

This film is a joy for lovers of psychological mystery, visual poetry and cinematic rhythm. I know this film is universally derided, also among revered critics, but I feel no shame to say I loved every second of it.Passion is another fine edition to Das kabinet des Dr. De Palma. All the exquisite ingredients to his powerful way of seducing are here. The suspense, the hysteria, the other worldliness of the real world, the camera in a camera,the dream in a dream, the thrilling music, the drama, and the undefinable De Palma Touch.Let yourself be caught of guard. Go see it without prejudice!

I love Brian De Palma. "Scarface", "The Untouchables" and "Carlito's Way" are some of my favorite movies and I always enjoy the cinematography in his movies and especially his use of the steadicam. Having said that, I can't say he made anything great in a very long while.The movie has beautiful clean cinematography (although a bit too static at times) and sets. However, it's slow and I find it very boring. The score in the beginning of the movie is not less than rip-off of Jon Brion's fantastic score to "Magnolia (1999)".The movie picks up and starts to be interesting after the middle... only to make no sense at the end (not even after reading the comments on IMDb). Too bad.

"Passion" is a ridiculous remake of the great French thriller "Crime d'amour". The screenplay uses the same storyline and has minors but significant modifications when compared to the original movie that spoils the movie. The scene of the murder of Christine in the original movie is unbeatable. The police investigation of the evidences is very poor in this remake. The conclusion is awful. The decadent Brian De Palma still uses split screen technique but without any brilliance. The two lead actresses of the original movie, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier, are wonderful and their duel is engaging. However, Rachel McAdams never convinces as an executive and looks like a vulgar woman. My vote is two.Title (Brazil): "Passion"