Roman Polanski adapts his second consecutive stage play, after 2011’s Carnage, with Venus In Fur. With roots in theater, Polanski takes to staging another play, unfolding in real time. At a ninety-six minute run time, Polanski directs only two actors here, the accomplished and talented Emmanuelle Seigner as Vanda and Mathieu Amalric as Thomas, and the experience is nothing short of rewarding, funny, and socially poignant.
The takeaway here, and if you’re familiar with the original text, stage play, or Greek goddess Venus herself, then you already know, is one that comments on the female role in today’s society. Amalric plays Thomas, a theater director whos first appearance conveys an artistic angst and frustration that all of the auditioning female actors could not properly play the character Wanda, a nineteenth-century aristocrat who becomes a dominator to a high-society gentlemen with certain, emotional and physical satisfactions to fulfill. Thomas, at first entirely put back by Vanda’s late arrival, and boozy yet charming first impression, agrees to let her audition, taking to finally read scenes with her.
The chemistry is effortless, and fulfilling, and for a movie like this, that is exactly what is required.
To deliver a good film, and not even that- but even a watchable one, with the limitation (or opportunity) of shooting only two actors for the entire duration, would seem a difficult task to accomplish. Yet it is Polanski’s directorial skill in capturing captivating, alive performances, and from equally skilled performers. Mathieu as Thomas is wonderful to watch, breathing tortured, specific energy into his angstful artist, showing the character’s relation to the sexually perverse socialite character yet ultimately making him relatable, and human. And Seigner delivers one of her finest performances, turning from the comically disheveled, rain-soaked actor, and to the sophisticated and aware performer Wanda, with measured composure in each part. The chemistry is effortless, and fulfilling, and for a movie like this, that is exactly what is required.
The inter-twining story lines, from when Thomas and Wanda talk about their modern situation, to the performing of the characters in the stage play, is invigorating to watch. The entire story, while light and in motion, feels like a constantly fluid experience, and is enjoying and fun to watch. Each new scene, divulging of information, that eerily parallels the play itself, builds upon the last in well-earned heightening and tension. It is provocative, intelligent, and culturally commentating (to the source material’s credit).
Venus in Fur gives the ready viewer a sexy and funny experience, in intelligently written and performed vision. The staging lends itself to a more quick-moving and swiftly maneuvered play, giving the film a certain lightness. But the film achieves a solid adaptation and makes the viewer experience a fresh message of the strength in female’s role in society and culture.
