A remake of the 2010 French film Crime d’amour, Rachel McAdams plays Christine Sanford, a merciless alpha female and senior executive at the high-end advertising firm of A.G. Koch in Berlin. When one of her underlings, Isabelle James (Noomi Rapace) comes up with an excellent campaign idea for a new Smartphone, Christine has no trouble taking full credit for the idea, with Isabelle sitting right there, powerless to do anything about it. “I would expect you to do the exact same thing in my place. This is business,” Christine assures a stunned Isabelle. Christine’s efforts to regain Isabelle’s trust by sending her on a trip to London seemingly backfire when Christine’s boyfriend Dirk (Paul Anderson) tags along and begins an affair with Isabelle.
From there, both women jockey for power in both their personal and professional lives. Christine appears to be the epitome of grace and poise, but she’s also the ultimate manipulative bitch. On the other hand, Isabelle seems more the smart, nerdy type. However, as time passes, it becomes clear that Isabelle can be just as manipulative as her boss. Dirk soon becomes a pawn between the two women, particularly after it turns out he’s been embezzling money from the agency, something Christine has been covering up, but is no longer inclined to do.
Even as I’m writing this, I can’t help but feel like Passion is the kind of movie De Palma made thirty years ago, circa 1982. His films from that era were some of his best. The aforementioned Dressed to Kill and Body Double are better thrillers, and personal favorites. However, when you craft a film in essentially the same mold thirty years later, it can help but feel terribly outdated.
Rather than being particularly sexy, Passion ends up being unintentionally funny. Despite hints of a asexually charged relationship between the two women, that never materializes. Really though, being unsexy is the least of the film’s problems. For one thing, Rachel McAdams is miscast. While she doesn’t have much of a problem looking sexy, she’s simply too young to be playing a bitchy boss. It’s just not believable; similarly, Noomi Rapace isn’t believable as utterly naïve.
In 2013, Passion plays out like over-the-top camp. Something tells me that’s not what De Palma intended.
Presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, this Blu-ray looks terrific. Close-ups are rich with detail, and all the high end fashions look stunning. Colors are vivid, and saturation is spot-on. Skin tones look normal and black levels are consistent and deep. No digital anomalies are present.
The DTS-HD 5.1 track is solid. Dialogue is clean and clear from the front, with the surrounds getting some work during more crowded scenes. The track won’t wow you, but it serves the movie well, with good balance and dynamic range.
English subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
- Interviews with Brian De Palma, Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace (HD, 7:02) The stars offer some of their thoughts on the film.
- Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:51)
