Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Moderate
- sensual
- paranoid
- feverish
- late night cinephile viewing
- film noir marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film stylish and absorbing in its Hitchcockian suspense and visual ingenuity, but divisive because its overheated, convoluted twists can seem nonsensical.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Rebecca Romijn plays Laure Ash and Lily Watts, while the plot repeatedly hinges on mistaken identity and exchanged lives.
Nicolas Bardo is a photographer, and paparazzi images, surveillance, and De Palma’s visual framing drive the intrigue.
The plot combines seduction, adultery, blackmail, and criminal schemes within a stylized noir framework.
The film’s brazenly illogical reversals and dreamlike restructuring make the viewer repeatedly reassess what has occurred.
Films like Femme Fatale, and why
Mulholland Drive
shared erotic thriller atmosphere, identity deception, voyeurism, and dreamlike psychological uncertainty
Body Double
shared neo-noir criminal intrigue, sexual manipulation, doubles, and elaborate deception
Dressed to Kill
shared Hitchcockian suspense, mistaken identity, voyeurism, and obsessive visual style
Lost Highway
shared nonlinear psychological mystery, unstable reality, and noir-inflected identity transformation
Movie Details
- Director
- Brian De Palma
- Release Date
- 2002-04-30
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (689)
Cast
- Rebecca Romijn
- Antonio Banderas
- Peter Coyote
- Ériq Ebouaney
- Édouard Montoute
- Rie Rasmussen
- Thierry Frémont
- Gregg Henry
- Fiona Curzon
- Daniel Milgram
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Femme Fatale about?
- A seductive con-woman in Paris attempts reinvention while a stolen identity, criminal enemies, and cinematic reality itself close in around her.
- What is Femme Fatale like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Femme Fatale as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Femme Fatale violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Femme Fatale as moderate.
- What did critics think of Femme Fatale?
- Critics broadly found the film stylish and absorbing in its Hitchcockian suspense and visual ingenuity, but divisive because its overheated, convoluted twists can seem nonsensical.
- Which films are like Femme Fatale?
- Films with a similar feel include Mulholland Drive, Body Double, Dressed to Kill, and Lost Highway.
- How long is Femme Fatale?
- Femme Fatale runs 114 minutes.
- Where can I watch Femme Fatale?
- In United States, Femme Fatale streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel.
