Passion: DePalma’s Mystery Movie Rapace McAdams Share the Kiss of Death

Brian DePalma’s Passion is full of suspense, mystery and sex with a few twists. Starring Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Paul Anderson and Karoline Herfurth it does not disappoint. Step into the high stakes world of power where sex is used as a tool and love is an emotion for manipulation. Rachel McAdams (Christine) is beautiful, seductive and she beckons you into her screen world with the utmost ease. Noomi Rapace (Isabelle) is drawn into the spider’s web but who’s web is it?  Who is the spider and who is the prey? DePalma keeps us guessing right until the very end of the movie. Clever dream sequences interspersed with real time leave the viewer in a complicated world of deception. What is real? What is imaginary? Who is normal? Who is deranged?

De Palma is a co writer of the screenplay that was originally conceived by Alain Corneau, a celebrated French screenwriter with multiple awards including a Cesar to his credit. The script is seamless, the settings exquisite and fitting for the headquarters of high level, international advertising company. Christine (McAdams) has a wardrobe and lifestyle to ‘kill for’. She is impeccably dressed in the boardroom and expensively/seductively dressed for the bedroom. Isabelle (Rapace) is her subordinate, driven by her work, focused on doing what is exceptional. She wears a lot of black, her apartment is very down scale in comparison to Christine’s. Christine has to convince her to put on some very stylish red shoes for a party she insists she attend. Isabelle is brilliant and both women are competitively ambitious.Isabelle conceives of an advertising campaign in the middle of the night that rocks the clients and will go massively viral. Christine wants adoration and to be promoted from London to the New York head office. Isabelle wants recognition for her work.

Christine loves to play games with people’s emotions. She plays them with everyone with deadly accuracy. Office assistant Dani (Karoline Herfurth) hates her and her games but she is a great ally ofIsabelle’s and becomes a key element in the drama that will unfold. Dirk (Paul Anderson) is the high-flying client who is trapped in a love triangle that he is not in control of. He is no match for the women who have him in their webs.

DePalma has had a lot of fun with this one, obtaining stellar performances from McAdams and Rapace. Rapace confessed that in preparation for the role she had help from a Psychiatrist who specializes in personality disorders of this magnitude and she spent a lot of time immersing herself in this psychotic world.