TIFF Review: 'Passion'

Passion

(France/Germany, 98 min.)

Written and directed by Brian DePalma

Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Karoline Herfurth, Paul Anderson

Passion is a turkey! A remake of the 2010 French misfire Love Crime, Passion is a sleazy erotic thriller that pits The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s Noomi Rapace as the victim in a deranged lesbian love affair that ends in murder. From a fatally miscast Rachel McAdams to a farcical soundtrack by Pino Donaggio, which might be the worst score ever recorded on film, every element of Passion reeks of overblown camp.

The clothes look nice, but under the direction of Brian DePalma, Passion is a disastrously misguided effort that overdoses on its own debauchery. Kinky sex and lingerie have never felt as flaccid as they do in this indefensibly bad train wreck. I didn't think I could see a TIFF offering worse than 2011's That Summer, but here we are. I really did not appreciate getting to the theatre at 9 am for this dud.

Rating: ★ (out of ★★★★★)