Passion is a disastrously dreary, flat and emotionless attempt at an erotic thriller, a four-way circle of quasi-lustful revenge set in an airless and inauthentic corporate environment. The only real point of interest is how the director, Brian de Palma, managed to deliver such a shockingly dull film in a genre in which he has previously excelled (Body Double).
Certainly de Palma’s style is in evidence throughout the film. But, Noomi Rapace is wasted in the lead role, Rachel McAdams is poorly cast as senior corporate executive with unusually eroticised work/life issues, while Karoline Herfurth and Paul Anderson do what they can with the poorly drawn roles assigned to them.
Unless you are committed to seeing every film Brian de Palma has made, there is little point in watching Passion. A far better use of your time would be to see the film Passion is based on, Love Crime (Crime d’amour), which stars Ludivine Sagnier and Kristin Scott Thomas. Actually, Love Crime is not a great film either, but it’s a hell of a lot better than Passion.
