A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

For the final week of ICM's Musical Challenge,I started checking lists for Musicals I may have accidentally overlooked. Finding his 2014 "Woman's Picture" The New Girlfriend to be a tantalising affair, I was intrigued to stumble on a Musical by auteur François Ozon,which led to me meeting each of the eight women.The plot:Meeting up in the family mansion for Christmas, Gaby,Louise, Augustine, Catherine and Suzon decide to keep their disagreements with husband/father Marcel to themselves. Shattering the Christmas spirit,the family members and maid Chanel find Marcel with a knife in his back. As each women circles each other with suspicions, (and all the roads are cut off) they hear a knock at the door and greet fellow Marcel's sister Pierrette,who has somehow been able to reach the mansion. View on the film:Taking the project after originally planning to remake George Cukor's The Women,co-writer/(with Marina de Van) directing auteur François Ozon & cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie keep the film rooted to a "Woman's Picture" atmosphere,via Ozon startling colour-coding stylisation unveiling Ozon early use of lush colours that pop on the screen,with each woman being dressed to her most elegant. Keying in on the mystery in one location, Ozon and Lapoirie knock down stage limitation with darting camera moves making the quirky Musical numbers appear from nowhere,and stylish whip-pans closing on the suspicions the eight women have for each other. Gathering the women from an adaptation of Robert Thomas's play, the screenplay by Ozon and Marina de Van break all the household rules with a deliciously dark comedic line underlying the classical Murder Mystery setting, via the dialogue having a peculiar tone,with each of the women revealing their inner challenges as the murder victim lays upstairs.Set against the classical backdrop of the family mansion, the writers turn the setting inside out with a sharp wit peeling away at every clue each family member has, to reveal an ingenious twist ending.Coming from all eras of French cinema from Poetic Realism,New Wave and the 2000's,the ensemble cast each give impeccable performances. Hammering home the family rules, Danielle Darrieux gives a fiery performance as Mamy, whilst François Truffaut muses Fanny Ardant and Catherine Deneuve light each other up as Femme Fatale Pierrette,and the calculating,icy Gaby. Joining in the mystery, Emmanuelle Béart spins a kooky turn as Louise,while Isabelle Huppert superbly makes Augustine the outsider in the family,and Ludivine Sagnier gives a sexy kooky edge as Catherine,in the mystery of 8 women.

What a terrific little foreign gem to watch . All the actresses involved were spot on in their acting and the movie moved along with a breezy and wonderful pace. As I watched the movie I noticed in one scene a picture of Ms. Denueve in her youth but she still looks radiant in this movie. The plot is been there done it but with a couple of twists and the musical numbers are wonderful two stand out the first with the mom and her daughters and the other was when the two daughters were in their room. I know some people do not like subtitles but to me I rarely notice and the movie was wonderfully entertaining. I highly recommend it to watch.

'8 Women' is one of those rare films the kind of which one doesn't come across too often. The story sort of follows an Agatha Christie style in the 50s. Director Ozon does an incredible job of telling the story in a satirical way by taking advantage of stereotypes and making it into a musical.The murder suspects include suspect's wife (Catherine Deneuve), her sister (Isabelle Huppert), his mother (Danielle Darrieux), his sister (Fanny Ardant), his two daughters (Virginie Ledoyen and Ludivin Sagnier), his cook (Firmine Richard) and his chambermaid (Emanuelle Beart). Each character is something that sets her apart, either a lesbian, or pregnant, or a con, or a seductress or unfaithful and so on. The cast includes some of the biggest names in French cinema and all 8 women deliver electrifying performances full of humour.The film goes pleasantly over-the top with the Agatha-Christie and the 50's formula. The colourful art direction is delightful. The dialogues are superbly creative and the spacious cinematography, especially the long shots and closeups are skillfully done. The songs are rightfully set in the scene and splendid to watch. Ozon also makes some interesting references to cinema of the 50s mostly through the characters' gestures, costumes and make-up.One does not have to be a fan of musicals or French cinema to appreciate the beauty of this film. With excellent writing, a lovely cast of beautiful actresses and lots of colour, it is hugely entertaining with loads of fun and something that I would like to revisit.

Strange film with amazing casting and the sign of a great director. Exploration of a delicate universe, fragile, dangerous, dark and egocentric, definition of woman and trial of feelings, gestures and illusions. Fruit of a play in which nuances are more important than colors, games of memories and intentions more relevant than reality, dreams and desires as cages of Bovaric scenes.French taste and sweet shadows in manner of Agatha Christie. Fragments of a ambiguous world and old fires in morning light. A murder, duties and fear, small sins as protective wall, the other as pray, fight with yourself and splendid collection of sentimental guns, traps, expectation and delicate hate. The essential advantage- the presence of woman's secrets in the skin of Ozon's art.A cruel, nostalgic and subtle film with seductive air of old melodramas, satirical traces and ash circles in snow.