What sort of film 8 Women is depends on whom you ask. Some may call it a whodunit, some may call it melodrama and yet others may call it a postmodern who's-who. But it's not really any of these. It is a quite uncategorizable French film that's in parts murder mystery, in parts musical. In any case, it's a searing, enjoyable character piece exploring 8 fascinating female figures.
Presumed to be set in 1950s France, eight women assemble at their countryside home ready to spend Christmas together. But the celebrations are put on hold when Marcel, the only man in the house, is found stabbed to death in his bed. Since it's snowed in, it's clear that one of the eight women committed the murder. Fueled by this fear, the eight women begin to interrogate each other, and as they do, the real meat of the story unfolds. Suffice it to say, nothing is what it seems.
8 Women takes a set-up that Agatha Christie made famous in books like "And Then There Were None" and plays with it in a very tongue-in-cheek way. At the same time it still, astonishingly, manages to be very moving. It takes itself just seriously enough, as evidenced by the movie's most famous trait; the song and dance numbers. Each woman gets a little song sequence to herself, in which she gets to revel in her character. It should be noted that all of these are already well-known French songs, such as "Pile oú face" sung by the minxish Emmanuelle Béart in her iconic maid's outfit, and "Toi jamais" by Catherine Deneuve. The brilliance of these scenes is that unlike in most musicals, the characters are very much aware that a song and dance is going on. When the movie's first song kicks in, the mother enthusiastically starts dancing along, to the grandmother's consternation, and afterwards can be heard humming the chorus to herself. It's a cheeky breaking of the 4th wall that has not its like in any other movie. These music scenes give a great charm to the movie, so much so that there was even a soundtrack album released.
The murder mystery is the movie's setup, but far more important are the women themselves, as evidenced by the title. 8 Femmes is as much a story about the female psyche as it is a crime drama, and each of the eight women is a fascinating character in her own right. Of particular note, though, is the high-strung, hypochondriac spinster Augustine, performed by an electrifying Isabelle Huppert. Fanny Ardant is then spellbinding as the victim's estranged sister Pierette, a femme-fatale who seems quite above the drama most of the other women are up to their necks in, but delights in taking part in it. Catherine Deneuve is also strong as the matriarch, Gaby, who struggles to keep her well-ordered world from falling apart as more and more secrets are revealed. Adultery, lesbianism, incest, the plot only thickens every time someone opens her mouth.
If all the above seems like a very far-fetched blend, that probably stands to reason. But everyone involved is determined to tell this ridiculous story with love and passion. The cast is all big French names, young and old, which is something Hollywood could definitely learn from, from the young and vivacious Ludivine Sagnier as the victim's bratty teenage daughter Catherine to grande dame Danielle Darrieux in the role of the spiteful grandma. This movie is one of the reasons why there are awards for ensemble casts, and indeed the film garnered the Silver Berlin Bear and the European Film Award for this very reason. These actresses and their characters are the heart of the film. The delivery is sharp and biting across the board, and thus the film is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny on many occasions.
8 Femmes is, at the end of the day, a riveting mish-mash of film genres, told both with love, intrigue and tongue firmly planted in cheek. It's a fascinating, slightly self-conscious tribute to both film genres and actresses as much as it is an entertaining crime story. Parts of it will ask you to suspend your disbelief, but even so, the film reels back in even its biggest doubters with a superb plot twist towards the end. Still, what's important here is to what the movie's title so aptly pertains; the eight women. Let them take you on a ride you are unlikely to ever forget.
Presumed to be set in 1950s France, eight women assemble at their countryside home ready to spend Christmas together. But the celebrations are put on hold when Marcel, the only man in the house, is found stabbed to death in his bed. Since it's snowed in, it's clear that one of the eight women committed the murder. Fueled by this fear, the eight women begin to interrogate each other, and as they do, the real meat of the story unfolds. Suffice it to say, nothing is what it seems.
8 Women takes a set-up that Agatha Christie made famous in books like "And Then There Were None" and plays with it in a very tongue-in-cheek way. At the same time it still, astonishingly, manages to be very moving. It takes itself just seriously enough, as evidenced by the movie's most famous trait; the song and dance numbers. Each woman gets a little song sequence to herself, in which she gets to revel in her character. It should be noted that all of these are already well-known French songs, such as "Pile oú face" sung by the minxish Emmanuelle Béart in her iconic maid's outfit, and "Toi jamais" by Catherine Deneuve. The brilliance of these scenes is that unlike in most musicals, the characters are very much aware that a song and dance is going on. When the movie's first song kicks in, the mother enthusiastically starts dancing along, to the grandmother's consternation, and afterwards can be heard humming the chorus to herself. It's a cheeky breaking of the 4th wall that has not its like in any other movie. These music scenes give a great charm to the movie, so much so that there was even a soundtrack album released.
The murder mystery is the movie's setup, but far more important are the women themselves, as evidenced by the title. 8 Femmes is as much a story about the female psyche as it is a crime drama, and each of the eight women is a fascinating character in her own right. Of particular note, though, is the high-strung, hypochondriac spinster Augustine, performed by an electrifying Isabelle Huppert. Fanny Ardant is then spellbinding as the victim's estranged sister Pierette, a femme-fatale who seems quite above the drama most of the other women are up to their necks in, but delights in taking part in it. Catherine Deneuve is also strong as the matriarch, Gaby, who struggles to keep her well-ordered world from falling apart as more and more secrets are revealed. Adultery, lesbianism, incest, the plot only thickens every time someone opens her mouth.
If all the above seems like a very far-fetched blend, that probably stands to reason. But everyone involved is determined to tell this ridiculous story with love and passion. The cast is all big French names, young and old, which is something Hollywood could definitely learn from, from the young and vivacious Ludivine Sagnier as the victim's bratty teenage daughter Catherine to grande dame Danielle Darrieux in the role of the spiteful grandma. This movie is one of the reasons why there are awards for ensemble casts, and indeed the film garnered the Silver Berlin Bear and the European Film Award for this very reason. These actresses and their characters are the heart of the film. The delivery is sharp and biting across the board, and thus the film is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny on many occasions.
8 Femmes is, at the end of the day, a riveting mish-mash of film genres, told both with love, intrigue and tongue firmly planted in cheek. It's a fascinating, slightly self-conscious tribute to both film genres and actresses as much as it is an entertaining crime story. Parts of it will ask you to suspend your disbelief, but even so, the film reels back in even its biggest doubters with a superb plot twist towards the end. Still, what's important here is to what the movie's title so aptly pertains; the eight women. Let them take you on a ride you are unlikely to ever forget.