8 Women
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Movie Reviews of 8 Women
Movie Review: Pure campy fun!
Summary: 5 Stars
What hysterical campy fun! I first saw this movie when it first came out in 2003, but have seen it many times since and it never fails to crack me up. There is so much going on that I sometimes need to watch it a few times so that I can watch the actresses instead of being distracted by the subtitles. There are so many laugh- out- loud moments.
I can see why some found it lacking or even banal. However, from my stand point, it was done so over the top that I can't imagine that the actresses themselves could keep a straight face while doing this. That being said, director Ozon has done and excellent job of keeping this whodunit walking the fine line between silly and seriousness as to not be too ridiculous.
Isabelle Huppert gives the most outrageously funny performance of them all as the spinster, hypochondriac, drama queen sister-in-law. I didn't even recognize her at first. Normally known for her excellent portrayal of dark, twisted, tortured characters, she camps it up totally in this as Augustine. And Danielle Darrieux is so funny as Gaby's (Catherine Deneuve) somewhat doddering mother pretending non-existent ailments. All the actresses do a great job though, even over acting the over acting.
Marcel, the only man in the film, is found murdered and all 8 women in his life: his wife, two daughters, maid, cook, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and sister are suspects. They are all trapped in the house and as the day wears on, everyone's secrets and whereabouts the night before start spilling out. Of course they slowly start suspecting and snipping at each other and saying what they really feel as they spill their own and each other's secrets. This is not totally a catty beyotch fest though as one might think with all of these women, no, there are some really touching moments as well when they do confess their hearts, secrets, and regrets to each other.
There are strong homosexual overtones as everyone seems to come onto each other at some point, which doesn't make that much sense, but which adds to the absurd faux noir-ish aura of this film. Set in the 50's, many of the moral judgments of that time period come out as homosexuality, pregnancy out of wedlock, loose sexuality, and marital infidelity have been perpetrated by and get judged by the characters. Done in the 2002 though, none of it is shocking and it only added to the over the topness as the story progresses.
It's a really fun film though just for what it is, and the 50's type dress styles and Technicolor hues totally added to the whole feel and fun of the film. The twists and turns as clues are introduced, as well as the over melodramatic use of use of music at certain times, does keep the whodunit part of the film intriguing. My only one meh about this film are the songs. None of the women can really sing all that well and sometimes the songs seemed to just be thrown in there, but I just skimmed through them after the first time I watched the film.
Just a few tidbits:
Actually, Danielle Darrieux played Catherine Deneuve's mother in three films: Damoiselles de Rochefort, Le Leiu du Crime, and 8 Femmes.
Catherine Deneuve also sang in Belle Maman, and Je Vous Aime-- a duet with Serge Gainsbourg.
Director Ozon was said to have done a little inside honor/joke to famed French director Francois Truffaut by putting in that scene where Deneuve and Ardant are rolling on the floor kissing. Fanny Ardant replaced Deneuve as Truffaut's lover back in the 80's and apparently CD was not to happy about having to do that scene. But she did it of course, and she was very funny in it.
Contrary to what one might think having all of these French film icons in one room together, they all claim to have gotten along and in between takes they sat around smoking and yakking away.
Movie Review: Bought It For The Cast......Stayed For The Fun....
Summary: 5 Stars
This review refers to the widescreen DVD(Universal/Focus Features) edition of "8 Women"( "8 femmes" )......
I don't usually buy a DVD unless I have already seen the film and know that I will get my money's worth. But when I saw the cast of this one, it practically jumped into my cart all by itself. The cast includes some of the most wonderful international actresses around.From the legends to the young stars I figured I couldn't go wrong with these names... Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emanuelle Beart, Fanny Ardent, Virginie Ledoyen, Danielle Darrieux,Ludivine Sagnier and Firmine Richard. I figured right.Insert tounge in cheek and get ready for 8 times the fun in this mystery/comedy.
When a wealthy family plans to spend Christmas together in their secluded home, the unexpected happens. Marcel, the only man among all the women, is found murdered in his own bed. The women who all immediatley begin to suspect each other are snowed in and have found the phone wires cut.The eight women, including Marcel's wife, daughters, mother in law, his sister,sister-in-law, the maid and the cook all have motives, they all have secrets, and they are all about half a bubble off the plumb. Whodunit? It's a geat treat finding out.
After my first view,I was orignally planning to go 4 stars on this film as my standard for mystery/comedy is "The Pink Panther", but this film was so highly entertaining and fun I know I will get years of enjoyment for myself and anyone else who views it.And as I write this I know I can't wait to watch it again. The actresses are brillant,work exceptionaly well together, and the story totaly engaging. Each actress even gets her own clever and fun musical numbers to perform as well. It was written and directed by Francois Ozon and adapted from the Play by Robert Thomas.
Now about the DVD...It is a great view in anamorphic widescreen(1.85:1), a clear picture and sounds great in 5.1 surround. I had a few technical problems with it though, it could be just my copy, but there were several times where it just paused itself. Sometimes it would just restart and sometimes it wouldn't. I found that by reloading it a couple of times, the glitches seemed to work themselves out, but it was annoying to have to do it in the first place. There are no special features other than a couple of theatrical trailers. The film will automatically come on in French with English subtitles, but also has subtitles in Spanish as well. Another reviewer mentioned that to play it only in French without the subtitles, just click on "8 femmes" instead of "8 Women", but I could not locate this option anywhere on my copy.
The actresses won 2 prestigious awards for their wonderful achievement as an ensemble. A Silver Berlin Bear from the Berlin Film Festival and Best Ensemble form the European Film Awards as well. Director Francois Ozon was also recognized with a Reader Jury of the "Berliner Morgenpost" at the Berlin Film Festival. It was also nominated for several other awards.
The film is very French! It is rated R for some adult thematic situations(lesbianism, adultry) but I found nothing offensive or graphic about it.
also available in a great francois ozon 2 pack with a fabulous thriller 8 Women / Swimming Pool ( François Ozon 2 pack)
Merci Beaucoup.....Laurie
Isabelle Huppert fans may also enjoy:Comedy of Innocence
Movie Review: Femme-tastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love French films. I mean, in all honesty they are probably my favorite films. The whole 60's French New Wave movement contains some of the best films ever made, and the French style of filmmaking has always and will always intrigue me. `8 Femmes' is just another in a long line a marvelous French films.
I think what makes `8 Femmes' so great is that is wholeheartedly embraces its camp value. It knows that it is preposterous and unrealistic and it doesn't try to be anything more or less. I vamps it up, delivering something that goes just far enough to be over-the-top but not obnoxious. It sums up everything that is so great about the French way of filmmaking; that carefree jovialness that elevates their films in my eyes.
The film is an adaptation of a stage play written by Robert Thomas. It concerns eight women who find themselves trapped in a house with a corpse. That corpse happens to be the head of the house, Marcel. The women include Marcel's wife, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, two daughters, his sister, his maid and his housekeeper. All eight women, as it becomes very clear, had reason to kill him, but as the coincidences and accusations start popping up it becomes even clearing that none of them did.
I mean, how could it be THAT obvious?
The star of this show is the script, which is woven so effortlessly and exaggerated by such comical dialog. I love that the actresses really sink down into their respective roles and just give it their all. Everyone involved delivers here. Emmanuelle Beart is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and she uses her stunning exterior to create a mysterious nymph of a character. Firmine Richard is delightfully tense here, shattering that image of the maternal caretaker (her motives reek of selfishness). Fnny Ardant is the definition of a flirt, and while I didn't much care for her entrance (her big solo seems awkward) I loved the way she developed her character over the course of the film. Virginie Ledoyen and Ludivine Sagnier are pitch-perfect as the two daughters, every bit of difference between them yet every bit of natural similarities. Danielle Darrieux has that thankless role of `mother-in-law' but she is hysterical and more than makes up for it.
But, the two stars here are none other than Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert. They are both extraordinary in their contrasting roles. Deneuve oozes sensuality as the wife, Gaby. She wears her lavish costumes with pride and a sense of entitlement that never budges from her shoulders. Huppert on the other hand, playing the prudish Augustine, wears her colorless frocks with a faux sense of strength that gives way to an obviously hidden shame. They compliment one another flawlessly, and Huppert's manic meltdowns are some of the films major highlights.
In the end, this musical/murder mystery is every bit of `Clue' or even `Gosford Park' with a twist, a French twist; and those twists are always the best!
Movie Review: 8 femmes, one murder, great fun!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
François Ozon (Criminal Lovers, Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes) has outdone himself with his deliciously entertaining comedy/mystery/musical. With a cast to kill for, beautifully colorful settings and costumes, and a fun musical number for each of the 8 women, you can't go wrong.At an isolated mansion in the snowy countryside of 1950s France, a family has gathered for the holiday season, but before the festvities can begin, their beloved patriarch is brutally murdered. The killer can only be one of the eight women closest to the man of the house. Was it his miserable wife, his spinster sister-in-law, or his shrewd mother-in-law? Maybe it was the insolent chambermaid or the loyal housekeeper? Or could it possibly have been one of his two daughters? A surprise visit from the victim's sister sends the household into a frenzy, encouraging hysterics, exacerbating rivalries and encompassing musical interludes. Comic situations arise with the revelations of dark and twisted family secrets. Each woman is a suspect, each has a motive, and each has a secret. One of them is actually guilty.
This wonderful whodunit offers a parade of every name-brand French actress of the past half century and the real thrill is watching icons like Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Danielle Darrieux and Fanny Ardant break into song. The songs, all French pop hits ala "Moulin Rouge," are all about longing and secret wishes long suppressed, and that gives the film a bit more gravity than you might first expect.
The screenplay by Ozon and Marina de Van, based on
a play by Robert Thomas, is mesmerizing in its manipulation of facts, truths, mistruths, lies, deceptive acts, secrets, and revelations. The secrets are revealed slowly, and although somewhat predictable, they still manage to shock and bewilder. The film takes a twist toward high camp in the second half, but it is all done tastefully and in good fun.
Lavish production values, brilliant cinematography, and energetic performances alone make this film a must. One of the best films of 2002, this was definitely snubbed for a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination. It's a great film ...
Movie Review: Magnificent whodunnit with added choreography!
Summary: 5 Stars
Having stumbled onto this film being played on TV late last night and given that Emmanuelle Béart was in this, I was immediately hooked into watching it. As has been mentioned it does feature a stellar cast from l'histoire du cinéma francais. Deneuve, Béart, Fanny Ardant, Isabelle Huppert......the list goes on. And being that the story revolves around these 8 women ( yes I know but there was really no other way of putting it ), it keeps you locked in.
What I found fascinating were the songs. Now normally I hate musicals or films where they seem to break into song practically at random ( think Rocky Horror Picture Show ) but this I can tolerate. The songs are so poetic and indeed high in camp factor but it's fun to look at the choreography behind the songs. It's almost like every actor had to study the choreography of their song in detail right down to having tears welling up in their eyes. Which is pure brilliance. Even if you don't like French pop songs you can still laugh at how they got their choreographed movements to perfection as if you were watching a pop video which, when it breaks into a song, is exactly what it becomes!
The basic plot of the film is really just a family find that the only man of the house is dead. So whodunnit? This leads to questions over betrayal, family secrets and the web of lies that has been spun by each and every member of the family. Now a film like this might bore you really but what keeps it alive other than the songs is the chemistry between each and everyone of the actresses. There seems to be no such problems over ego and each play their part competently and seem to take on their character to the point where the character becomes them. Which is the sign of great actors pulling together as a team to create a great movie. No ifs, no ands, no buts! Oh and if you are not moved by the last song that is played in this film, I will be amazed as it is so beautiful in its truthfulness that it makes me want to hear it again and maybe even cry. It's that good!
Just simply superb. There's nothing else to add.