Passion
Synopsis
There is fierce competition between Christine, the boss of a multinational advertising agency, and her talented protégée Isabelle. Christine takes pleasure in exercising control over the younger woman, leading her one step at a time ever deeper into a game of seduction, manipulation and humiliation.
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It has something that so many mainstream American movies today are lacking: an appreciation for cinema’s irrational power over its audience. And De Palma, old-school enough that he closes Passion with a title card reading “The End,” made a film that’s best understood through the psychodramatic lens of classic noir, while at the same time working a twist on his own formula.
Duncan Gray
September 08, 2016
La Furia Umana
In essence, Passion is a costume drama disguised as a flick about female competition and crime solving. Like any fierce cinematic bitch with a large bank account, Christine is dressed to the nine’s in designer duds and fancy make-up. She favors bold colors, sexy necklines and the most crimson and fuchsia of lipsticks. Isabel, on the other hand, is almost completely void of color and sex appeal…
Sara Freeman
December 25, 2013
’You’re seeing the unreliable narrator’, says De Palma. But what does it mean to see an unreliable narration unfolding? What actually happens in Passion is more complex than in literary fiction: it is not only the character performing, but also the film itself!
Adrian Martin, Cristina Álvarez López
September 16, 2013
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