Venus in Fur

2014 • 95 minutes

About this movie

Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway play by David Ives, VENUS IN FUR is the latest film from master filmmaker Roman Polanski. Alone in a Paris theater after a long day of auditioning actresses for his new play, writer-director Thomas (Mathieu Amalric) complains that no actress he’s seen has what it takes to play the lead female character: a woman who enters into an agreement with her male counterpart to dominate him as her slave. Thomas is about to leave the theater when actress Vanda (Emmanuelle Seigner) bursts in, a whirlwind of erratic - and, it turns out, erotic - energy. At first she seems to embody everything Thomas has been lamenting. She is pushy, foul-mouthed, desperate and ill-prepared - or so it seems. When Thomas finally, reluctantly, agrees to let her try out for the part, he is stunned and captivated by her transformation. Not only is Vanda a perfect fit (even sharing the character's name), but she apparently has researched the role exhaustively, learned her lines by heart and even bought her own props. The likeness proves to be much more than skin-deep. As the extended "audition" builds momentum, Thomas moves from attraction to obsession until, with Vanda taking an ever more dominant role, the balance of power shifts completely.

Ratings and reviews

Fantastic adaptation of a play. Certainly not a "casual" film although I can see it being amusing despite the sexual undertones and fetishes that are essentially nonstop. It's hard to characterize but it's a story of a man who is almost literally absorbed into the play he is directing and in doing so discovers thoughts, feelings, desires, and fetishes he wasn't even aware he'd been repressing. Fascinating and should be watched while simultaneously consuming at least one bottle of cheap but pallatable French wine to enhance the experience.

very revealing in how it reverse role play as a plot device repeatedly.

I loved this play and to,see it turned into a movie is great! Great actors as well