Venus in Fur – reviews of Polanski's 'playful' new film

 
       

  
  
   
       Alt Text:    Venus in Fur movie      

  
 
      
    Polanski turns drama of sexual role-play into a witty, elegant romp with juicy performances, say critics     
 
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    Friday, May 30, 2014 - 7:49am  
        What you need to know 
  Roman Polanski's new drama Venus in Fur opens in UK cinemas today. This French-language film is based on a David Ives Broadway play, which is in turn based on Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's novel about masochism.  
 The film stars Mathieu Amalric as Thomas, the writer-director of a new play based on Sacher-Masoch's novel, who struggles to find the right performer for the lead role. When chaotic actress Vanda (Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner) arrives, she convinces a sceptical Thomas to let her read the part, and gradually seduces him with her performance. 
  What the critics like 
 Polanski's screen version of this engaging two-hander is "wittily adapted and tempestuously performed by Amalric and Seigner", says David Hughes in  Empire . This is an enjoyable romp, with much to say about gender roles in the world beyond the stage. 
 Polanski's film is a "playful and literate rumination on the fine line between passion and perversity, pleasure and pain, life and art" for discerning highbrow audiences, says Scott Foundas in  Variety . Seigner engulfs the screen with a juicy comic performance that does full justice to a demanding role. 
 The film is a "playful" jeu d'esprit on sexual role-play, illusion and reality, and directing as a sexual act, says Peter Bradshaw in  The Guardian . Polanski brings "a certain elegance and wit" to this entertaining spectacle, topped off by a rousing Dionysian finale. 
  What they don't like 
 "This is a fun piece of play-acting for as long as it lasts, but it never quite feels like much more," says Robbie Collin in the  Daily Telegraph . The film's sexual politics already feel dated and you can sense Polanski lurking behind the lens, always ready with his safe-word - cut!                ·   
       Roman Polanski    masochism