Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
This guy takes on 8 WOMEN? But I thought he was married...
The following is a non-spoiler review of '8 femmes', to be released in the U.S. as '8 Women'
Summary: Directed by Francois Ozon. '8 femmes' is the first all-female French-language murder-mystery comedy that I've ever seen, and it pleased me on many levels. And did I mention that it is a musical too? I recommend watching this film.
Plot: Written by Francois Ozon, Robert Thomas (play), and Marina de Van.
The first act introduces all the characters, and each is certainly a unique female voice, although they all share one trait - the feisty French woman, ready to speak up and spark a fight with innuendo. We learn the husband / son / father / etc. has been murdered, phones lines cut, snow keeping everyone in location, etc. Perfect for a play, and I hope someday to see this performed in a local theater. Act 1 also thrusts us into a world where characters get up in the middle of plot, and sing a song - quite a shock walking into the film with no prior knowledge.
Unfortunately, the first act is hampered by interruptions, where most of the time is spent with plot like this: "Hey, how did woman #1 know that door leads to the murdered man's room?" "Didn't woman #2 see him last night?" "Woman #2 didn't see him, maybe woman #3 called him before he died?" And so on, never answering the previous questions.
Act 2 puts an end to much of this bantering. A daughter character plays inspector, interrogating each woman one-by-one. At this point, the writing really picks up, and is very, very well done. Much bickering, and many different motivations for each character. The musical interludes, while not forwarding the plot very much, break up the dialogue. And I found myself surprised on three or four occasions in the film - which normally never happens - XXX or Sweet Home Alabama surprising, I think not!
Act 3 wraps up the film, and without giving away the mystery, it is wonderfully balanced with a wonderfully written resolution, albeit a bit sad. As Robin Williams say: "The French, they know life is shit!"
Acting: One highlight include Catherine Deneuve as the neglected and neglecting wife, rolling around with Firmine Richard, in a physical quarrel / love scene. Another highlight is Virginie Ledoyen, as the young daughter / inspector...without her forceful, yet innocent actions, the film would fall flat. Finally, Isabelle Huppert had the best role - the stuck-up, always-fighting, terrible Augustine.
Notes: '8 Women' will be in limited release from Focus Films in the U.S. on September 20, and will probably never open wide - it's a French-language film with subtitles, and Americans are a horrible audience for international films. I doubt it will garner $3 million in its release, unless the eight women become Big, Fat, and Greek quickly.
Cheers,
--Caller From L.A.
