Femme Fatale (2002)

A woman tries to straighten out her life, even as her past as a con-woman comes back to haunt her.

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writer:

Brian De Palma

Stars:

Rebecca Romijn, Antonio Banderas, Peter Coyote

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rebecca Romijn	...	Laure / Lily (as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
Antonio Banderas	...	Nicolas Bardo
Peter Coyote	...	Watts
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Black Tie
Edouard Montoute	...	Racine
Rie Rasmussen	...	Veronica
Thierry Frémont	...	Serra (as Thierry Fremont)
Gregg Henry	...	Shiff
Fiona Curzon	...	Stanfield Phillips
Daniel Milgram	...	Pierre / Bartender
Jean-Marc Minéo	...	Seated Guard (as Jean-Marc Mineo)
Jean Chatel	...	Cannes Commentator
Stéphane Petit	...	Bodyguard One (as Stephane Petit)
Olivier Follet	...	Bodyguard Two
Eva Darlan	...	Irma

Storyline

The thief Laurie Ash steals the expensive diamond jewel called 'Eye of the Serpent' in an audacious heist during an exhibition in Cannes 2001 Festival. She double-crosses her partners and is mistakenly taken as Lily, a woman who lost her husband and son in an accident and is missing since then, by an ordinary family. One day, while having bath in Lily's bathtub, Lily comes back home and commits suicide. Laurie assumes definitely Lily's identity, goes to America where she marries a rich man, who becomes the Ambassador of USA in France. When Laurie returns to France, her past haunts her.

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Plot Keywords:

identity | ambassador | suicide | cannes | photographer | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

France

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

6 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Femme fatale

Filming Locations:

Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$324,709 (Japan) (29 August 2003)

Gross:

$567,253 (Japan) (29 August 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Epsilon Motion Pictures, Quinta Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The plane ticket that Lily takes is from the fictitious Quinta Airlines. Quinta Communications is the company that produced the film.

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Goofs

The film supposedly takes place at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, even though the premiere that was recreated for the opening of the film is for Est - Ouest. The real director Régis Wargnier and the star of the film Sandrine Bonnaire appear as themselves.

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Quotes

French cop: The American ambassador beats his wife?
Nicolas Bardo: Yes, that's right. Yes, and she has the face to prove it.

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Connections

References Run Lola Run (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Télégraphe Beats"
Performed by Vicarious Bliss
Written and Produced by Andy Gardiner
(c) Vicarious Bliss/Universal Music France 2001

User Reviews

avoid it

well, OK, I would like to start this intro with general observation that people who are doing creative jobs in their lives have their own 'expiry date'. today, brian de palma is old man and he obviously lost his criteria. this show us one more thing and it is the fact that we shouldn't fool ourselves with expectations about artist's achievement based on his reputation (overrated or not, that's the other question). self-criticism is often needed. even 'scarface' has naive ending, though it's very good movie.

commercial movie title makes you suspicious at start, but it isn't classic modern trash with some prostitute (prostitute in any form) who accomplishes what she wanted and it's always about money and easy life, of course. the only reason why this makes some difference is her ability to see how things could end up in the future if.... (I don't want to tell the movie here, it's enough).

anyway, we have here this generic blonde making this movie adjustable for average audience. we have generic plot, and generic trash with very nasty and up to no good title character. she is, of course, always a step ahead, sexy, should be pretty, but we've seen prettier and as I said very immoral and capable to do anything. despite de palma's attempt with her special ability which is actually very marginal, this movie is totally cheap, generic, many times seen, chewed in and spit out for stupid audience to swallow. it's stupid to emphasize erotic component just for cheap attention as it's stupid to insist on dramatic aspect in porn movie.

trivia - she is 4 inches taller than antonio banderas