Femme Fatal

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</tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> Femme Fatale</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Wingdings 2" ><B>êê</B></FONT><B> ½ </B> Recommended</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> Rating</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> R </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Strong sexuality, violence and language.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Director</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Brian De Palma</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Déjà vu only in my dreams</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Starring</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Rebecca Romijn-Stamos</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Antonio Banderas</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Eriq Ebouaney</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Peter Coyote</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Set in France at the Cannes Film Festival, the film opens with a wonderfully creative, high tech heist, where $10 million in diamonds is stolen from the very much alive body of a beautiful actress, during a steamy love scene in a hotel bathroom with Laure Ash (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). Laure pulls a double-cross and takes off with the loot. Black Tie (Eriq Ebouaney of <I><B>"Lumumba")</B></I>, the crew's leader,<I><B> </B></I>is injured and goes to jail for seven years. </div> <bR> <div> While he is paying his debt to society, Laure, meets and marries Bruce Watts (Peter Coyote), a Bill Gates type who has become the richest man in the world. He uses his influence to land the job of US Ambassador to France and Laure (now known as Lily) returns with him just as Black Tie is released from jail. He's intent on seeking both revenge and the stolen jewels. You get an idea of how quirky the film is when you consider that Black Tie leaves prison in the tux and blood soaked white shirt he wore when he was arrested.</div> <bR> <div> Coincidence, choices and chance determine your life, as we have seen in films like "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow and the Kieslowski film "Red." The complexity of this story is such that if I told you all about it, it would still be confusing. So much of what happens is visual as opposed to verbal. Various scenes are replayed based upon making a different choice or just being lucky or unlucky. Should you, for example, continue to play Russian Roulette and die or use your airline ticket that afternoon that might result in you meeting someone that changes your life for the better? A flash of light could determine who is killed in an automobile accident.</div> <bR> <div> I tried to take the story seriously but the gratuitous sexuality of Stamos, which moves beyond erotic to pushing the limits of pornography, while dressed in a bra and panties, is strange. It is erotically similar to what we saw her do in her blue painted outfit in <I><B>"X Men," </B></I>but to the point of making you laugh at her and not with her. There are times when what is going on is more like the hustle of a strip club rather than one's bedroom, even for the freak of the week. </div> <bR> <div> Because so much of what happens in the film is being able to compare one circumstance to another, it is often confusing. Like "Memento," one might enjoy the film better the second go around. The pseudo gay scene with Banderas and the model's accentuated breast and leg shots - almost like disembodied body parts - combined with all the double crossing gives me the feeling of a well made film that was about something I just couldn't care about as much as I wanted to.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="585" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 115 WIDTH="573"><div> If not for the solid beginning and ending of "Femme Fatale," it would have been a total bust. The film's previews and poster accurately convey a beautiful, sexy woman who does whatever it takes to get what she wants. For film buffs, the title of the movie harkens back to film noir, where a woman with an agenda got what she wanted by being subtle and manipulative. The femme fatale of this century may do that, but she also may be as overt as Vin Diesel <I><B>("XXX")</B></I> or </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="5"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="115" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="5" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> Vincent D'Onofrio <I><B>("Salton Sea"</B></I><B> </B>& TV's "Law & Order-Criminal Intent").  I liked the film but wanted to like it better. Some may love it.</div> <bR> <div> For movies like this I must remind myself that when writing a review, I'm both telling you something about the movie while trying not to say too much. Keep in mind that what is offered is only one person's opinion. Heck, I may even go see it again!</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> George O. Singleton  © 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>Reelmoviec@aol.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>