Venus in Fur

Film & TV

Thursday July 17, 2014 Comments

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From Roman Polanski comes the screen adaptation of David Ives’ award-winning play, itself based on Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s semi-autobiographical novella Venus in Fur.

Vanda (Emmanuelle Seigner) arrives dishevelled and late at a small Parisian venue to audition for fledgling director Thomas’s (Mathieu Amalric) own theatrical adaptation of Sacher-Masoch’s book. Initially aghast at the prospect of missing dinner with his fiancée, Thomas is nonetheless drawn slowly but inextricably ever deeper into Vanda’s web of domination – having his own sexual frustrations illuminated by the sultry actress’s clever use of stage lighting in the process.

Polanski, as only Polanski can do, uses the two actors as counter-weights, each in turn assuming not only theatrical control, but sexual power and intelligence to subjugate the other.

There is no doubt that Seigner and Amalric, having appeared together previously, display a natural chemistry, one stoked by Polanski’s provocative direction and further enflamed by Sacher-Masoch’s theories of voyeuristic pursuit and masochistic pleasure.

Venus in Fur whips itself into a fury of kaleidoscopic hedonism, swinging between the battle of the sexes and personal fetishes with alarming frequency, leaving the viewer, much like the reader, in a state of flux – exploring not only the character’s observations of one another’s wants, but more disturbingly, highlighting one’s own darkest desires.

More InDaily film reviews:

Charlie’s Country
Venus in Fur
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Lunchbox
Belle & Sebastian
Rising From the Ashes
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Yves St Laurent
Good Vibrations
Maleficent

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<h1>Venus in Fur</h1>

<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/teri-louise-kelly/" class="author">Teri Louise Kelly</a></address>
											
							<p>From Roman Polanski comes the screen adaptation of David Ives’ award-winning play, itself based on Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s semi-autobiographical novella <em>Venus in Fur</em>.</p>
<p>Vanda (Emmanuelle Seigner) arrives dishevelled and late at a small Parisian venue to audition for fledgling director Thomas’s (Mathieu Amalric) own theatrical adaptation of Sacher-Masoch’s book. Initially aghast at the prospect of missing dinner with his fiancée, Thomas is nonetheless drawn slowly but inextricably ever deeper into Vanda’s web of domination – having his own sexual frustrations illuminated by the sultry actress’s clever use of stage lighting in the process.</p>
<p>Polanski, as only Polanski can do, uses the two actors as counter-weights, each in turn assuming not only theatrical control, but sexual power and intelligence to subjugate the other.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that Seigner and Amalric, having appeared together previously, display a natural chemistry, one stoked by Polanski’s provocative direction and further enflamed by Sacher-Masoch’s theories of voyeuristic pursuit and masochistic pleasure.</p>
<p><em>Venus in Fur</em> whips itself into a fury of kaleidoscopic hedonism, swinging between the battle of the sexes and personal fetishes with alarming frequency, leaving the viewer, much like the reader, in a state of flux – exploring not only the character’s observations of one another’s wants, but more disturbingly, highlighting one’s own darkest desires.</p>
<h5><a href="#more-indaily-film-reviews" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="more-indaily-film-reviews"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>More InDaily film reviews:</h5>
<p><a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/07/17/charlies-country/">Charlie’s Country</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/07/17/venus-fur/">Venus in Fur</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/07/11/dawn-planet-apes/">Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/07/10/lunchbox-mouth-watering-cinema/">The Lunchbox</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/07/10/belle-sebastian/">Belle & Sebastian</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/07/03/rising-ashes/">Rising From the Ashes</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/07/03/transformers-age-extinction/">Transformers: Age of Extinction</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/06/26/yves-st-laurent/">Yves St Laurent</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/06/19/good-vibrations-punk-came-belfast/">Good Vibrations</a><br />
<a href="http://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2014/06/19/maleficent-bold-re-awakening/">Maleficent</a></p>
							<p>This article is republished from <a href="https://inreview.com.au" target=_blank  rel="canonical">InReview</a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/film/2014/07/17/venus-fur/" target=_blank  rel="canonical">original article</a>.</p>
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