Directed by:
François OzonCinematography:
Jeanne LapoirieComposer:
Krishna LevyCast:
Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart, Fanny Ardant, Virginie Ledoyen, Ludivine Sagnier, Firmine RichardPlots(1)
From French director Francois Ozon, 8 WOMEN is a character drama and musical set in a country home during Christmastime in the 1950s. Though the atmosphere seems light and festive, when the host, Marcel, is stabbed in the back, one of the eight women in the house must be the culprit. The youngest of the bunch, Catherine (Ludivine Sagnier), is a teenager who loved her Daddy and also loves police novels. Her sister, Suzon (Virginie Ledoyen), is a student in England who has traveled home for the holiday. Their mom is Gaby (Catherine Deneuve), the ungrieving wife of Marcel, who never reveals too much. Grandma, who goes by Mamie (Danielle Darrieux), is an alcoholic who reveals that she's not as innocent as she looks when she walks right out of her wheelchair. Marcel's sister, Pierrette (Fanny Ardant) arrives mysteriously just after the murder. The maids, Louise (Emmanuelle Beart) and Chanel (Firmine Richard), are obviously up to no good as their stories keep changing. And the neurotic and hilarious Augustine (Isabelle Huppert), Gaby's sister, is the aging virgin who is just plain unstable. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (4)
Unforgettable performances with an excellent twist that, even if you know it, won't spoil the experience of watching all those ladies even on a second viewing. And a third, a fourth, a fifth...
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Without the great performances by the actors and a fairly interesting execution, this film probably wouldn't dazzle as much. The actresses were the main focus, and you enjoy watching them because they're just great, and you don't really care much about what they're doing because the film isn't that great, script-wise, I mean. But it has working musical numbers, which I wasn't expecting.
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Wow! I don't know how much of an original spectacle 8 Women is, but it's definitely worth seeing. Eight women are locked in a luxurious mansion, the snow prevents them from leaving, and the only man lies on his stomach with a dagger in his back. François Ozon managed to make the absolute most of the subject matter. What should have been boring for half an hour of the film, in which one woman accuses another, constantly escalates to dizzying heights. Ozon had me wondering who the killer was until the final minutes. I was forming a certain theory throughout the entire film, but after ten minutes, I had to change it. Moreover, the final resolution settled me nicely, laughed in my face, and only confirmed that I’d seen too few movies not to be surprised. There is beauty in simplicity and the ending is the simplest you can imagine. But despite all that, I am still forced to remain a step below the peak in my rating. The reason I'm not going higher is because I was incredibly irritated by the musical numbers. Sure, it can be said that they suited the film, but they just annoyed me throughout the whole film. However, 8 Women is definitely a very high-quality and entertaining spectacle, in which you will appreciate the individual characters even more after watching it for the second time. But I do recognize that each woman had a reason...
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A comic detective musical set in a big house. That’s a brief and accurate description of Ozon’s 8 Women. Unlike many other musicals, the story here is not unimportant. On the contrary, this is a great detective story in the spirit of Agatha Christies works. It has great momentum and excellent rising suspense. The musical interludes are ingenious, albeit sometimes rather forcibly included. 8 Women relies mostly on the female acting performances. And the cast is probably the very best France can offer. P.S.: Absolutely has to be seen in the original French language version!
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