Bait by Actriz
Venus In Fur
Directed by Lars von Trier
Adapted by David Ives from his play of the same name
Produced by Scott Rudin
Edited by Molly Stensgaard
Cinematography by Manuel Alberto Claro
Costumes by Ann Roth
Production Design by Maria Djurkovic
Art Direction by Nick Palmer
Set Decoration by Philippa Hart
Score by Philip Glass
Distributed by Fox Searchlight
Opening night film at New York Film Festival
Limited release December 20th
Wide release Christmas Day
Budget: $20,000,000
Cast:
Vanda Jordan - Lily Rabe
Thomas Novachek - Eric Stonestreet
Plot: Set in the modern day, Thomas Novachek (Stonestreet) is the writer-director of a play adaptation of the 1870 novel Venus in Furs, a book about a man and mistress to whom he becomes enslaved, which inspired the word “masochism.” In a run-down New York City building, he is on the phone lamenting the inadequacies of every actress who has auditioned for the lead role of Wanda von Dunajew.
Just as he is getting ready to leave, Vanda Jordan (Rabe) walks in. She is young, sexy and just recently graduated from a masters program at NYU Tisch. However, she is utterly wrong for the part and is the living embodiment of everything that Thomas says were flaws with the other actresses: needy, crude, compliant, desperate. Regardless, she convinces Thomas to read through the entire play with her as Wanda. Throughout, she shows shocking and detailed insight into the character. The balance of power gradually shifts as Vanda establishes total dominance over Thomas, exactly as in the novel. Vanda the actress and Wanda the character quickly begin to melt into one. Vanda is acting, or perhaps she sees in Thomas a masochist, one who desires fantasy in “real life” while writing fantasies for a living.
With a biting blend of comedy and erotic drama, Venus in Fur is an exploration of gender roles and sexuality, in which desire twists and turns in on itself. Venus in Fur is also a witty, unsettling look at the art of acting - onstage and off.
Critics: “Producer Scott Rudin took a huge gamble giving this film to von Trier, and his gamble paid off. von Trier has not only produced his most accessible film since Breaking the Waves, but also possibly one of his finest. He has not let having a major producer and a script that is not his own prevent him from his typical, showy avant-garde filmmaking. As per von Trier standards, the film is slick and sexy with the leading female giving the performance of a lifetime. Rabe radiates on screen as Vanda Jordan, giving her infinite dimensions and commanding the screen like few other actresses of her age could. Her Vanda Jordan will certainly join the ranks of Alex Forrest, Dorothy Valland and Suzanne Stone as one of the greatest femme fatales of all time. Stonestreet gives a much quieter performance but not a bad one. As Ives’ screenplay intended, he took the back-seat to Vanda/Rabe’s steamrolling, dominating (literally) performance. Rabe could be a major contender for Best Actress awards this season, as could Ives’ phenomenal screenplay, von Trier’s masterful filmmaking and even Stonestreet’s fearing-for-his-life director. This will primarily be remembered as the film that put Rabe at the top of many directors’ lists of actresses to cast in their future films, and she madly deserves it. Rabe gets an A+, the film an A.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%, 82% from top critics (Consensus: “Lars von Trier’s mainstream but still quite avant-garde psychological thriller is a towering achievement, with credit also going to a genius script and a star-making performance from Lily Rabe.”
Metacritic: 85 (universal acclaim)
FYC Oscars:
Best Picture
Best Director - Lars von Trier
Best Actress - Lily Rabe
Best Supporting Actor - Eric Stonestreet
Best Adapted Screenplay - David Ives
FYC Golden Globes
Best Picture Drama
Best Director - Lars von Trier
Best Actress Drama - Lily Rabe
Best Supporting Actor Drama - Eric Stonestreet
Best Screenplay - David Ives
Venus In Fur
Directed by Lars von Trier
Adapted by David Ives from his play of the same name
Produced by Scott Rudin
Edited by Molly Stensgaard
Cinematography by Manuel Alberto Claro
Costumes by Ann Roth
Production Design by Maria Djurkovic
Art Direction by Nick Palmer
Set Decoration by Philippa Hart
Score by Philip Glass
Distributed by Fox Searchlight
Opening night film at New York Film Festival
Limited release December 20th
Wide release Christmas Day
Budget: $20,000,000
Cast:
Vanda Jordan - Lily Rabe
Thomas Novachek - Eric Stonestreet
Plot: Set in the modern day, Thomas Novachek (Stonestreet) is the writer-director of a play adaptation of the 1870 novel Venus in Furs, a book about a man and mistress to whom he becomes enslaved, which inspired the word “masochism.” In a run-down New York City building, he is on the phone lamenting the inadequacies of every actress who has auditioned for the lead role of Wanda von Dunajew.
Just as he is getting ready to leave, Vanda Jordan (Rabe) walks in. She is young, sexy and just recently graduated from a masters program at NYU Tisch. However, she is utterly wrong for the part and is the living embodiment of everything that Thomas says were flaws with the other actresses: needy, crude, compliant, desperate. Regardless, she convinces Thomas to read through the entire play with her as Wanda. Throughout, she shows shocking and detailed insight into the character. The balance of power gradually shifts as Vanda establishes total dominance over Thomas, exactly as in the novel. Vanda the actress and Wanda the character quickly begin to melt into one. Vanda is acting, or perhaps she sees in Thomas a masochist, one who desires fantasy in “real life” while writing fantasies for a living.
With a biting blend of comedy and erotic drama, Venus in Fur is an exploration of gender roles and sexuality, in which desire twists and turns in on itself. Venus in Fur is also a witty, unsettling look at the art of acting - onstage and off.
Critics: “Producer Scott Rudin took a huge gamble giving this film to von Trier, and his gamble paid off. von Trier has not only produced his most accessible film since Breaking the Waves, but also possibly one of his finest. He has not let having a major producer and a script that is not his own prevent him from his typical, showy avant-garde filmmaking. As per von Trier standards, the film is slick and sexy with the leading female giving the performance of a lifetime. Rabe radiates on screen as Vanda Jordan, giving her infinite dimensions and commanding the screen like few other actresses of her age could. Her Vanda Jordan will certainly join the ranks of Alex Forrest, Dorothy Valland and Suzanne Stone as one of the greatest femme fatales of all time. Stonestreet gives a much quieter performance but not a bad one. As Ives’ screenplay intended, he took the back-seat to Vanda/Rabe’s steamrolling, dominating (literally) performance. Rabe could be a major contender for Best Actress awards this season, as could Ives’ phenomenal screenplay, von Trier’s masterful filmmaking and even Stonestreet’s fearing-for-his-life director. This will primarily be remembered as the film that put Rabe at the top of many directors’ lists of actresses to cast in their future films, and she madly deserves it. Rabe gets an A+, the film an A.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%, 82% from top critics (Consensus: “Lars von Trier’s mainstream but still quite avant-garde psychological thriller is a towering achievement, with credit also going to a genius script and a star-making performance from Lily Rabe.”
Metacritic: 85 (universal acclaim)
FYC Oscars:
Best Picture
Best Director - Lars von Trier
Best Actress - Lily Rabe
Best Supporting Actor - Eric Stonestreet
Best Adapted Screenplay - David Ives
FYC Golden Globes
Best Picture Drama
Best Director - Lars von Trier
Best Actress Drama - Lily Rabe
Best Supporting Actor Drama - Eric Stonestreet
Best Screenplay - David Ives