Passport Cinema: 8 Women - Page 2

Anyone who's seen a corny '50s melodrama in their day will find something to enjoy about 8 Women, for it evokes those pictures in a beautifully stylistic fashion. This is a movie where even the dowdiest of characters look like they put on their Sunday best, where glamor is the order of the day and where pretty people get caught doing some very bad things. If that weren't enough, Ozon chucks some song-and-dance numbers into the mix, none particularly memorable but some quite catchy and revealing of the characters who belt them out.

Needless to say, 8 Women is a females-only affair. The one male cast member remains unheard and only seen obscured, leaving ample room for the ladies to engage in their own festival of catfights, accusations, and other forms of histrionic behavior. Thankfully, the entire ensemble knows that their collective shrillness is all in good fun, so as not to disappoint viewers by taking their shared cattiness too seriously. Each actress has a particular role to fill, and for the most part, they do so with loads of charm and efficiency. Half the fun of taking in 8 Women comes from witnessing the performers handle whatever curveballs the plot throws at them. Ledoyen stands out above the cast, exhibiting in one film more spunk and charm than most Hollywood starlets will reveal in their whole careers. Deneuve is nothing short of entrancing, and Beart has the sexpot act down pat. I didn't care much for Huppert, though; even for a film that's all about going all-out, she overdid her snobbish role to a fault.

I've seen 8 Women twice now, and I'll admit, it lost a little something on that second viewing. The film's inherent staginess wore on me a bit, and the ending, as ironic a twist as it is, is a puzzlingly solemn cap-off to a rather breezy picture. Nevertheless, I still got a great kick out of watching 8 Women, as I presume will even those American musical buffs put off by the subtitle factor.

Article Author: A.J. Hakari

A.J. has been writing reviews online for over ten years. The sites he writes for include ReelTalk Movie Reviews, Classic Movie Guide, Terror Tube, and his own recently-inaugurated website, Passport Cinema.

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