6/10
This is a fine old two-hander in traditional style with competent acting from Eva Green and Emmanuelle Seigner.
8 August 2023
After a tremendous success of her debut autobiographical novel dedicated to her late mother , writer Delphine Dayrieux (Emmanuelle Seigner) goes through a tough and difficult period. After the release of her latest book , as she gets involved with an obstinate admirer , Ella (Eva Green) . The lonely and unsuspecting Parisian author , realises that there are cold and unrelenting haters among a sea of worshippers . On the other hand , step by step , Elle intrudes clandestinely into the life of the tormented and tired writer . Elle attempts to break Delphine's persistent block. Little by little , Elle becomes designingly essential to Delphine. Worse still , Elle turns into fury when she reads her projected new novel.....

This is an attractive story in short budget about the classic confrontation between two stars , with ordinay battle of wills . None of it is exactly unpredictable , but director Roman Polanski does it well within its limitations and gettting well-observed portraits from Emmanuelle Seigner as writer Delphine Dayrieux and Eva Green as her obsessed fan Elle . Concerning the already seen plot of the elusive and alluringly enigmatic woman , Elle , who is bent on helping Delphine , a blocked writer with her illusions and own inner demons . That's why the film sounds quite like ¨Misery¨by Rob Reiner and ¨The Ghost Writer¨ by director Polanski himself . Starring duo are pretty good . In fact , in my opinion Eva Green gives a better acting - as the passionate admirer, and cryptic new friend- than Polanski's wife , Emmanuelle Seigner . Being Roman Polanski's fifth collaboration with Emmanuelle Seigner . However , the film is slow-moving and really dull , until the final part in which tension , suspense and thriller enhances , getting success enough.

It displays a colorful and adequate cinematography by cameraman Pawel Edelman , Polanski's regular . This is Roman Polanski's sixth feature film collaboration with cinematographer Pawel Edelman . As well as evocative and exciting musical score by French composer Alexandre Desplat . The motion picture was co-written and professionally directed by the Polish Roman Polanski . Polanski's cinematic trajectory is hard , problematic and full of incidents. In 1968, Polanski went to Hollywood, where he made the psychological thriller, Rosemary's Baby (1968). However, after the brutal murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974, he again made a US release - it was Chinatown (1974) . It seemed the beginning of a promising Hollywood career, but after his conviction for the sodomy of a 13-year old girl, Polanski fled from he USA to avoid prison. After Tess (1979), which was awarded several Oscars and Cesars, his works in 1980s and 1990s became intermittent and rarely approached the caliber of his earlier films. In 1992 made Bitter Moon , but it doesn't succeed as the erotic drama it's intented to be and including some ludicrous lines from what must be Polanski's worst movie . It wasn't until The pianist (2002) that Polanski came back to full form. His career is full of hits and some flops , such as : his big success Rosemary's Baby , Chinatown, The pianist , Oliver Twist , Frantic, Dance of vampire , among others . And The Ghost Writer (2010) in which Polanski was arrested September 2009 in Switzerland, post-production was never put on hold , he then oversaw every step of the film and made all of the artistic decisions. He finished editing the movie while in a Swiss prison and in December 2009, Roman was released on bail but placed under house arrest . And later Polanski made Carnage (2011) , Venus in furs (2013) , J'accuse (2019) and this D'après une histoire vraie (2017) or Based on a True Story (World-wide, English title) whose rating is 6/10 .
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