FILM REVIEW: ‘LOVE CRIME’

Alain Corneau Mixes Film Noir and Office Politics in Cold-Blooded Thriller

By: Parimal M. Rohit

August 22, 2011

(UGC Distribution) Hollywood’s Horrible Bosses has nothing on Alain Corneau’s Love Crime when it comes to the visual arts capturing the essence of the tense power plays between overbearingly manipulative superiors and their apparently victimized inferiors. A French film presented in the United States by Sundance Selects and starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Ludivine Sagnier, Patrick Mille, Guillaume Marquet, and Gerald Roche, Love Crime goes where other corporate culture-themed productions generally steer clear: can office politics, when taken to the extreme, instigate murder?

Corneau pulls in several different themes in Love Crime to tell his tale of office politics gone haywire. A dramatic thriller featuring themes of power, lust, greed, manipulation, and murder, it is not surprising the French filmmaker infused some film noir elements into Love Crime. The mysterious intrigue dominating throughout the film, followed by protagonist’s contrasted transition from innocent victim to conniving schemer, has shades of psychological ploys utilized by Alfred Hitchcock.

That intrigue plays out mostly in a Paris high-rise office, where an American multi-national company operates one of its subsidiaries. The branch’s Alpha Dog head executive is Christine (Scott Thomas) -- everything one would not want in a boss. Her manipulative ways, ambitious goals, domineering personality, and constant need for elevated attention far outweighs what Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, and Colin Farrell collectively brought to Horrible Bosses.

Christine’s not-so-innocent techniques present themselves almost immediately, when she starts to take credit for the brilliant ideas her star associate, Isabelle (Sangnier), successfully developed. The plot thickens when Isabelle’s mind is pulled by two conflicting forces: the effeminately seductive lure of her boss, and the constant prodding of a fellow co-worker who believes the young associate must stand up for herself.

A mind apparently caught in constant conflict of choosing between being the loyal corporate soldier and looking out for Number One, Love Crime becomes even more complex when Christine’s lover, Philippe (Mille), welcomes Isabelle into his bed.

If that were not enough, when Christine's deep desire to be promoted to the firm’s New York headquarters is dashed, she declares an all-out war with Isabelle and Philippe.

For about two-thirds of the film, Christine and Isabella have at it, with the former seemingly having the upper hand each time the latter deploys a new strategy to get even. Curiosity abounds of how Isabella will ultimately top her nemesis just before the end credits roll. Love Crime takes a sudden turn when the jilted associate murders her venerable superior.

What transpires is completely unexpected: Isabella is now an accused killer who confesses her crime. With about an hour already dedicated to developing a solid storyline where the audience is beginning to side with Isabella whilst despising Christine, the sudden shift in plot presents itself as if double that time would be required in order to fully flesh out the film’s new intentions.

Of course, within 30 minutes, the audience is savvy as to Isabella’s overarching scheme, as the reveals are made through a series of flashback sequences visually explaining the young girl’s actions.

It is here the audience realizes she is not the protagonist it spent nearly two-thirds of the film emotionally supporting. As the flashbacks play out, Love Crime makes an odd turn from a well-developed struggle between boss and employee to a borderline absurd tale of manipulations taken several steps too far.

Not to mention, Love Crime seems to feature just a little bit of “love” in favor of having the “crime” aspect of the film dominate throughout.

Overall, Love Crime is promising, as the audience is definitely sucked in through the moment of the murderous crime. Isabella’s grand scheme of implicating herself only to exonerate herself while carrying the ironic twist of the innocent confessing while the guilty deny, is not properly executed as well as it could be.

Then again, it is questionable whether the audience even has the patience to sit through a murder mystery after spending about an hour watching an office drama unfold, complete with sexual tension and soap opera-style fireworks.

Beyond that, Love Crime is well-shot and features a pretty solid score. Even more, Mdms. Scott Thomas and Sagnier are first-rate in their respective performances. Rarely does a film come around properly featuring two women portraying overly powerful lead roles so masterfully.

Too bad Mr. Corneau is no longer around to see his film play out in American theaters, as the French director died just days after Love Crime opened in France.

Opening in theaters across the United States on September 2nd, the France 2 Cinema and Divali Film production is an entertaining watch. The film’s manipulative plot, twisted ending, and moral fiber present enough substance to keep audiences chattering well after the end credits roll.