Venus in Fur (2013)

An actress attempts to convince a director how she's perfect for a role in his upcoming production.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

David Ives (play), Roman Polanski (screenplay)

Stars:

Emmanuelle Seigner, Mathieu Amalric

6 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Vanda
Mathieu Amalric	...	Thomas

Storyline

An actress attempts to convince a director how she's perfect for a role in his upcoming production.

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Plot Keywords:

psychological manipulation | femdom | von sacher masoch | submissive man | cross dressing | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Mars Distribution [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Poland

Language:

French German

Release Date:

8 November 2013 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Venus in Fur

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,761, 22 June 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$342,183, 8 August 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

R.P. Productions, A.S. Films, Monolith Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Louis Garrel was originally cast as the male lead and was replaced by Mathieu Amalric.

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Quotes

Vanda: Thank me.
Thomas: Thank you.
Vanda: Thanks to whom?
Thomas: Thank you, mistress.

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Crazy Credits

Behind the credits are images of classical artworks depicting Venus. Titles, in French as per the credits, are as follows - Titian: Vénus a sa toilette (1555) (National Gallery of Art, Washington) Ferdinand Bol: Vénus et Adonis (1658) (Rijksmuseum) Titian: Vénus a sa toilette (1555) Rubens: Vénus au miroir (1616) Rubens: La Toilette de Vénus (1608) Diego Velasquez: Venus au miroir (1651) Hans Memling: La vanité (1485) École de Fontainebleu: : La Toilette de Vénus (around 1550) Sandro Biotticelli: La naissance de Vénus (1485) Alexandre Cabanel: La naissance de Vénus (1863) Emil Jacobs: Vénus allongé et Cupidon (1839) Nicolas Poussin: Vénus dormant avec l'Amour (1628) Titian: Danae (1546) Rembrandt: Danae (1636) Joseph Helmz l'ancien: Vénus endormie (around 1600) Alessandro Allon: Vénus et Cupidon (16th century) Titian: Danae (1544) Lambert Sustris: Vénus et l'Amour (1515) Domenico Zampieri: Vénus (17th century) Jacopo Palma: Vénus allongée (1520) (Bridgeman Art Library) The final image is of the "Venus De Milo".

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Connections

References Stagecoach (1939)

User Reviews

All Hail Venus

"Venus in Fur" is Roman Polanski's mostly successful screen version of the hit Broadway play with a dynamite conceit. A cocky playwright and director is auditioning actresses for a new play. In comes a flighty eccentric who he at first dismisses but who over the course of the story teaches him a little something not only about the character he wrote but about women in general. It's sort of a nightmare version of the Pygmalion myth, in which the creator's creation comes to life, but this time she's not willing to be submissive.

The film's biggest flaw is that Emmanuelle Seigner, despite giving a terrific performance, is just too old for the role. This wouldn't necessarily have to be a detriment by the time the play ends, but it doesn't make sense that she's as old as she is at the beginning before some of the play's twists have fallen into place. And Polanski opts to change the ending, doing away with the simple but effective ending of the stage version and instead leaving things on a much more ambiguous note. I preferred the more simple ending, and think it would have gone farther toward making Seigner's age less of an overall issue.

But aside from those criticisms, "Venus in Fur" is a fun romp of a movie, and probably about as cinematic as a two-character play set entirely on an empty stage could be.

Grade: A-