Venus in Fur

At times throughout his career, Roman Polanski's films have been overshadowed by his personal life. From a tragic childhood in World War II Poland to the brutal murder of his wife and unborn son to the questionable, or possibly criminal, behavior that led to his exile from the U.S., Polanski's life itself would make a compelling movie. Several documentaries have depicted these events in detail, most recently and famously, Roman Polanski: Wanted & Desired, which chronicled the cirucus of events surrounding his latest legal troubles in Switzerland.

Given the short memory and attention span of modern society, the media frenzy over his 2009 captivity and the sordid past events that led to the U.S. extradition request are what resonate most in the public consciousness when Polanski is discussed today. His latest film output has not been popular enough or critically acclaimed enough to swing the public discourse back from his personal life to his artistic life.

However, he is the rare filmmaker who has maintained an exceptionally high level of artistic output throughout his entire career. Even more astonishing is that he has continued this quality output past age 70 and, with his latest film, into his 80s. Even the Hollywood legends like Billy Wilder, and Alfred Hitchcock lost their mojo when they reached the golden years of their lives, but Polanski continues to impress even today.

The argument can be made that Woody Allen has maintained high standards well into his 70s and that is somewhat true. However, despite the high quality of much of Allen's recent output, his characters always feel like a septuagenarian’s version of modern people. The characters in Polanski’s films continue to either ring pitch perfect or to tap into psychological traits that make them timeless.

While none of his last three films have been a classic on the level of The Pianist, all are of immensely high quality and full of energy and the creative spirit of an artist that continues to have a relevant voice in the world of cinema. Polanski's latest, Venus in Fur, features only two characters, a director and an actress auditioning for a role in his latest play. The self-reflexive nature of the material is enhanced by the fact that Polanski's wife, Emmanuelle Seigner plays the actress, and the director is played by Mathieu Amalric who looks strikingly similar to a young Polanski.

Like Carnage, Venus in Fur is an adaptation of a play and despite having only one set and mountains of dialog, Polanski’s direction keeps the film from feeling stage bound. As the title suggests, the film uses the 1807 novel Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch as its inspiration. The play within the film is supposed to be an adaptation of that novel. The novels author, Sacher-Masoch, is notable for having his work and name be the source of the term "masochist" so unsurprisingly the themes of submission, misogyny and self-identity are explored throughout Polanski's film.

Venus in Fur opens with a beautiful gliding shot down a Paris street. As a thunderstorm ominously builds the camera pushes in on a small theater. The coming storm ads a nice touch of the fantastique to the proceedings, as it almost seems to be bringing or heralding the arrival of the actress, Vanda. She arrives at the theater just as the director, Thomas, is about to leave at the end of the day.

Vanda, also the name of the lead character in the play, is a mystery. Even though she is not on Thomas’ audition call sheet, she has a copy of the entire play that he has not shared with anyone. She is clad in leather and clearly prepared to read for the part of the fictional dominatrix Vanda. Despite protests from the tired director, she forcefully maneuvers her way into auditioning.

Vonda carries a huge, almost magical, bag which soon produces the perfect Victorian dress as a costume. Inevitably, Thomas finds himself reading the submissive male character in his play opposite Vonda. Slowly, Thomas becomes caught up in the part and Vonda leads him on a psychological journey through his own fears and darkest desires. This literal role reversal between the previously controling director and submissive actor provides a nice allegory for the evolution and current state of human sexual relations and identity.

The dialogue in the film is smart and quick, and this is one subtitled movie where I had to pause several times to make sure I was catching every word. It is a pleasure these days to see a film where the words matter as much as the images. Both Seigner and Amalric do a wonderful job bringing those words and characters to life, while Polanski’s direction gives this theater piece great style through his subtle use of a roving camera and sound effects.

Touching as it does on some of the usual Polanski themes and obsessions, sexual politics, human desires and self-identity, Venus in Fur fits nicely into his ouvre alongside such classics as Cul de Sac, What? and The Tenant. A slightly perverse, yet fun and funny movie, Venus in Fur takes the viewer on psychological trip through the dark side of sexual power games. Like Thomas, you may step out of the theater a little different than when you entered.