Passion, 2012.
Directed by Brian De Palma.
Starring Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Karoline Herfurth, Paul Anderson, and Rainer Bock.
SYNOPSIS:
The rivalry between the manipulative boss of an advertising agency and her talented protégée escalates from stealing credit to public humiliation to murder.
When you think of Brain De Palma films, several things come to mind; extended tracking shots, using the camera from a first-person point of view, voyeurism, and twists and turns with a little bit of camp thrown in for good measure when the time calls for it. At his best De Palma is (excuse the pun) untouchable at fusing tension with big-screen visuals with films like The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible, Carlito’s Way and Scarface yet highly capable of delivering smaller scale films such as Casualties Of War, Carrie, and the much maligned Snake Eyes.
Sadly, he’s made his fair share of junk, too, and it is in this category when Passion lies. It’s in the vein of his previous more ‘trashy’ films such as Dressed To Kill or Body Double minus the fun ‘camp’ value which the 1980s brought with them, and despite the second half showing many classic De Palma trademarks, the film fails to ever ignite.
The story is a weak attempt at an erotic thriller with love triangles and plenty of girl-on-girl kissing which is at no point ever remotely sexy, nor are the relationships or their demise ever believable; it’s one notch above a TV soap opera in terms of its writing and, surprisingly, its acting. Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace give career-low performances, camping it up to extraordinary levels without ever convincing us this is the right tone the story demands. One can only wonder what direction De Palma was giving them, but the choices by all involved are consistently off the mark they need to be at to make the material believable.
The first half of Passion is unrecognisable as a Brian De Palma picture and one could be forgiven for thinking someone else was directing it, that is, until the second half and (inexplicably) it’s all change. In come the trademark De Palma techniques in full force with Dutch angles, the wide angle shots, the split screens, and the first-person POV; all of which are great to look at because they remind us of what the director is capable of but they cannot save the film for the damage at this point is irreversible.
Considering he hasn’t released a film in six years only cements Passion as a major disappointment and quite why such a talented film maker choose this material is something only De Palma can answer. One thing is for sure; it does nothing to rebuild his tarnished reputation.
Flickering Myth Rating: Film ★ ★ / Movie ★
Rohan Morbey – follow me on Twitter.
Originally published August 23, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
