Femme Fatale

"Nothing is more desirable or more deadly than a woman with a secret."

2002 1h 54m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 689

MysteryCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A $10-million diamond rip-off, a stolen identity, a new life married to a diplomat. Laure Ash has risked big, won big. But then a tabloid shutterbug snaps her picture in Paris, and suddenly, enemies from Laure's secret past know who and where she is. And they all want their share of the diamond heist. Or her life. Or both.

“Nothing is more desirable or more deadly than a woman with a secret.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Rebecca Romijn
Laure Ash / Lily Watts
Antonio Banderas
Nicolas Bardo
Peter Coyote
Watts
Ériq Ebouaney
Black Tie
Édouard Montoute
Racine
Rie Rasmussen
Veronica
Thierry Frémont
Serra
Gregg Henry
Shiff

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: Brian De Palma
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Countries: Switzerland, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Switzerland, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by Thierry Arbogast. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bill Pankow shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Rebecca Romijn and Antonio Banderas and Peter Coyote carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brian De Palma directs. Thierry Arbogast behind the camera. Ryuichi Sakamoto scores. Bill Pankow cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Switzerland, France. Dialogue in English, French, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 24 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: Switzerland, France.
5Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by Thierry Arbogast. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Bill Pankow shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Rebecca Romijn and Antonio Banderas and Peter Coyote carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Nothing is more desirable or more deadly than a woman with a secret.".
10IMDB entry: tt0280665 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 19 themes, including "adultery", "france", "paris, france", "sexual frustration".

The technical file

Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast
Original score: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Editing: Bill Pankow
Production design: Anne Pritchard
Costume design: Olivier Bériot
Makeup / hair: Patricia Planche
VFX supervisor: Agnès Berger Sébenne
Stunt coordinator: Yannick Derrien
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $16,800,000
Return: 48% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Femme Fatale (2002)

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Brian De Palma

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What people are saying

John Chard2015-11-08
★ 8/10
Isn't sugar better than vinegar? SPOILER ALERT - The last paragraph makes reference to a 1940s film that constitutes a spoiler. There rarely seems to be anything in between where Brian De Palma films are concerned, cinematic lovers of all kinds by and large either trash or laud his films. Femme Fatale is no different, one critic - both professional or amateur - will have it as a 1/10 movie, another will have it at the maximum rate available. Femme Fatale is high grade stuff if one is either a De Palma fan or a lover of film noir. Conversely if these two things don't tick your film loving boxes then the law of averages suggests you should have - or should - stayed/stay away from it. De Palma opens up the doors to his fun house and invites noir lovers to come on in and enjoy. It's difficult to write about the plot because it holds many twists and turns, it's a veritable supply of uppers and downers, twisters and benders, all sexed up and pumped full of De Palma's trademark tricks and devilish rug pulls. In truth the story and set-up is predictable, but the journey is what makes the pic ooze quality and bare faced cheek, with the director giggling away like a schoolgirl in the background. Opening up with a sequence that sees our titular fatale (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) watching famed noir classic Double Indemnity, De Palma proceeds to homage and love the film noir world. As he uses split-screens, canted angles, up-tilt shots, shadow plays etc, the narrative pulses with eroticism and impending cruelty, this really is a femme fatale based movie of the grandest kind. As events unfurl, with hapless photographer Nicola Bardo (a fun packed Antonio Banderas) caught in the web, Ryuichi Sakamoto's magnificent classical based score swirls around like some sort of peeping tom. The latter of which finds a shifty accomplice in Thierry Arbogast's noir photography. It's a picture awash with dupes, dopes and vengeful criminals, where the themes of identity, duality, sexuality and distorted perceptions gnaw away at those investing fully in the viewing experience. Some critics (prof and amat) have lazily likened the film to David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, as if De Palma in 6 short months watched Lynch's movie and then knocked this film out! The copy-cat charge as funny as the rug-pull that De Palma pulls here. Besides, as any film noir lover will tell you, this has more in keeping with Fritz Lang's 1944 noirer "The Woman in the Window" than Lynch's film, which is no bad thing at all, and De Palma knew that. 8/10
JPV8522022-05-18
★ 6/10
Contains spoilers Lower tier movie from De Palma that has some good direction and acting was... okay, but the ending still never quite worked even after seeing this again (third time if I recall). The whole it was all a dream felt like a cheat. On the other hand, as mainstream erotic-thrillers go, it's worth a watch if you're interested in that subgenre, it's not a bad way to spend 2 hours. 3.0/5