The Worst Film Ever

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The sexy and innocent Ludivine Sagnier butts heads with the aristocratic Kritsin Scott Thomas. They start off in an amicable boss-subordinate relationship at a corporation. But when Kristin steals the credit for her prodigy's business idea, the relationship begins to deteriorate. Things get worse when Ludivine steals her boss' boyfriend. The film features two strong and powerful women who call the shots and the intense relationship between them. The men in the film are either sex objects or complete wusses.Unfortunately, I watched a DVD with bad subtitles and some of the scenes went over my head. The film becomes a murder mystery in the second half. Ludivine Sagnier is sensational as the cruel but talented corporate climber addicted to pills. The film can be watched simply to look at this gorgeous woman. The way she walks. The way she literally jumps on her boss' boyfriend. The way she sweats on the treadmill.I wonder whether the film is a commentary on the nature of women in power positions. I have heard of male homo social desire. The film seems to be about female lesbo-social desire (if there is such a thing). Not only do the two women share a boyfriend, but very early in the film Kristin intimately kisses Ludivine on her neck. Ludivine hugs Kristin intensely after stabbing her.

Sadly, this was to be Alain Corneau's last film, as he died a week after this premiered.Ludivine Sagnier and Kristin Scott-Thomas star as Isabelle and Christine, who both work for a conglomerate with offices all over the world. Christine (Scott-Thomas) is Isabelle's boss and seems very fond of her. Isabelle does amazing work, which Christine takes credit for. Isabelle seems okay with that, even when her coworker, Daniel (Guillaume Marquet) points it out.Isabelle and Christine are both involved with the same co-worker, Philippe (Patrick Mille). Christine, being hard-boiled, has information on Philippe concerning a shortage in some of his accounts. At Daniel's urging, Isabelle gives a report to the American firm interested in working with them, and they are very impressed, particularly when she says that it's hers and she takes full responsibility for it. The firm had initially offered Christine a lucrative job in New York and she had purchased an apartment; now they tell her that it was premature to offer it to her and they will discuss it later.Christine confronts Isabelle and accuses her of trying to make her look bad, usurping her authority, etc., etc. Later she uses what she has on Philippe to have him make a date with Isabelle and then break it. When Isabelle calls Philippe, Christine answers and basically declares war on Isabelle. She then humiliates Isabelle at a party.It goes from there.The French for some reason do this kind of film very well, and Love Crime is no exception. The men are secondary to the two competitive women with their own agendas. The environment of the office is sterile and ultramodernKristin Scott-Thomas is excellent as the cold Christine, a smile barely covering a truly nasty personality. When she asks how Isabelle's hair would look down before a meeting, Isabelle shows her - and Christine says, keep it up. That's because with her hair down, you can see what a dazzling young beauty Isabelle is, and Christine has to keep her in her place.Sagnier, with her wide-eyed, innocent face, is perfect as a sweet woman who realizes she's in a jungle and needs to fight to survive.Very good if predictable film once you see where it's going.

This is a great little French thriller, with a well-thought out plot that requires considerable acting ability on the part of Ludivine Sagnier's character.Ludivine was almost visionary in this picture. She stared out of every shot like someone possessed. Perhaps that's what she thinks ambition looks like.Sadly, little was made of her great figure. Photographs from "Swimming Pool" her American hit, prove that she has great breasts, worthy of a few shots in a film about a crime of passion.However, Ludivine's sex scenes with her love-object, her bosses's lover Phillipe are almost a joke. She rips off her clothes in a fury, but we glimpse not so much as a thigh, let alone a mammary gland. The director sadly died 12 days after the film's release, so perhaps he had lost interest in sex.Ludivine's crime is fantastic. She poses as utterly mad, eating barrels of supposed madness pills, and leaving all kinds of evidence that she indeed stabbed her evil boss to death. Then, hey presto, somehow she persuades the cops she never did it. Miraculous escape!Whereupon, she regains her position in the company and sees off her lover with her boss's document against him, a copy of which she had kept for this purpose. A very long-sighted character with brilliant acting ability. In the end, she thrives and we wish her all the best, even if we never saw her breasts.

A brilliantly acted modern French thriller is one way of describing director Alain Corneau's latest film "Love Crime (Crime d'amour)". Starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier as executive and assistant at a big corporate conglomerate. Scott Thomas plays the brutally ruthless and manipulative Christine, while Sagnier is Isabelle the young and beautiful assistant. (aka fresh meat).Christine has Isabelle take her place on a business trip to Cairo along with the attractive Phillipe. Before long they're having torrid affair, but when Phillipe breaks it off and Christine takes credit for all of Isabelle's work, the cat and mouse game of revenge begins. The story and plot are heavily structured and things have to happen as it's written to make everything else happen. I'm not all that familiar with the French legal system, but there are a few instances when something has to happen for the story to move forward and it doesn't matter how improbable it seems.When Christine publicly humiliates Isabelle in front of the all of the executives at a party, this is the last straw and Isabelle plans an executes an even more brutal plan. After another get together at Christine's house, Isabelle dressed in a white overall stabs her to death but leaves clues to implicate herself. At first viewing this seems kind of odd but its all apart of her elaborate plan. The evidence is seemingly overwhelming and Isabelle is sent to prison. With the help of her sister and friendly co-worker Daniel, Isabelle puts the other half of her plan into motion. The acting by these two women really pushes this film to more that just your average thriller.To put it in Hollywood terms its "The Devil Wears Prada" meets "The Perfect Murder". Eventually everything happens as it should and her masterful plan is complete. The road up the corporate latter is pretty brutal and leaves its share of victims along the way both literally and figuratively. Who ever wants it more and is willing to sell out their very soul will become that more rich and that more powerful. "Love Crime" is currently available on Netflix watch instantly.