Passion

Brian DePalma is a great example of the A-list director who steadily declines. DePalma, who has made such hits as Carrie, The Untouchables, and Scarface, hasn't really had a big hit since the celebrated flop Bonfire of the Vanities. His latest project, Passion, from 2012, didn't even get a release in the U.S.

DePalma has always been a guy who borrowed from others, and this psychological thriller, which was based on a French film, is rehash of a lot of other films, including the recent Steven Soderbergh film, Side Effects (which actually came later, but it is much better). Like another of DePalma's recent films, Femme Fatale, it has an erotic tinge to it, with a teenage boy's attitude about lesbians.

The film stars Noomi Rapace as a dowdy ad women. Her boss is Rachel McAdams, and the two have a complicated relationship. McAdams, who professes to love Rapace, isn't beyond taking credit for her ideas. As the film moves along, we discover McAdams is basically a psychopath.

Late in the film there is a murder, and the film has a few twists and turns. At times it's clever, but most often it's incoherent, resorting to dream sequences as reality several times, which is a lazy way of directing.

In addition to McAdams and Rapace sharing lip lock, there is also German actress Karoline Herfuth as Rapace's assistant, who also shares a kiss with her. Herfuth is a stunning redhead, and this is what teenage boys imagine lesbians looking like. I guess some do.

Also, the title is terrible.