The classic French thriller Diabolique has a sturdy story, which is one reason why it is a target for remakes. The film was remade for American television twice - first as Reflections of Murder (featuring Tuesday Weld, Joan Hackett and Sam Waterston) and later as House of Secrets (with Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner). To be honest, both of those remakes are certainly interesting to watch, if lacking in the suspense and novelty of the original. Reflections is fairly faithful to its parent, while House of Secrets maintains the bare bones of the storyline and throws in a different setting and some elements of voodoo. If you have not seen the original, the enjoyment level of both those films will be elevated.
The same cannot be said for the first dunderheaded attempt to cinematically remake the French classic for American audiences. Keeping the original name, story and setting would seem a step in the right direction, but the film fails due to some incredibly foolish choices.
The action takes place at a private boys prep school overseen by the hateful Chazz Palminteri. In between stealing funds from the school, Palminteri enjoys subjecting wife Isabelle Adjani - who suffers from a weak heart - to assorted cruelties. In his spare time, he engages in S&M with ice queen blond teacher Sharon Stone. The two women - tired of his abuse - decide to murder him, drop his body in the disgustingly filthy school pool and make it appear that he drowned in a drunken accident. Naturally, nothing goes according to plan.
The best thing about this film is probably the casting of Sharon Stone in the role made famous by French actress Simone Signoret. If anyone embodies some of the same cunning and sensuality of Signoret from the original in a modern actress, it would be Stone. Unfortunately, the screenplay and everything around her fails to support her in any way.
The changes made to the screenplay are not improvements. While a remake need not be slavishly faithful to the original, it should not completely go off the beaten path the way that this film does, particularly in its finale. The shock twist ending of the original may no longer be fresh, but the shaggy dog pseudo-feminist tilt tacked on to this latest effort seems to come completely from left field and is a blatant misfire.
If Stone was an inspired choice, the remainder of the cast is less so. Isabelle Adjani, looking puffy and listless, is completely underwhelming as the abused wife. At no point does she engage our sympathy and she often seems entirely too lacking in energy to be remotely terrified. This may well be the most laid-back "frightened" performance one has ever seen on celluloid.
Kathy Bates shows up as a detective investigating Palmineri's disappearance and driving the women to distraction. Her performance is immensely enjoyable and she seems to be having a good time. As a cancer survivor, she gets to crack completely inappropriate jokes and attempts to lay the groundwork for the "we're all sisters under the skin" meme that creeps into the film's finale. Unfortunately, her character and performance belongs in a completely different (and one would argue better) film.
And the casting of Chazz Palminteri as the abusive schoolmaster is a disaster. Palminteri, providing the same performance here as he does in his guise of the reliable Mafia hit man roles in which he specializes, is laughably miscast. As tough as he comes off, Adjani could arguably physically match him and Stone could step on him without blinking twice. Not only that, but we have to believe that there was something that attracted these two attractive women to him and kept them in his orbit when they could easily have moved on. Palminteri, resembling a large trout, and playing a man with the charisma of a barracuda, seems an impossible prospect for these women. We have to believe that one lovely woman would fall for him (much less two) and no gigantic leap of faith can make this happen.
Director Jeremiah Chechik has absolutely no idea how to maintain suspense or an atmosphere of foreboding. The scene shifts are klutzy and obvious. The pacing is often laborious, which allows the viewer time to mull over the complexities of the plots and double-crosses played out before us and realize how absurd the entire scenario truly is - something that the original (as well as its TV remakes) never allowed the viewer time to contemplate. This material needs a skilled hand, but what is provided is a clumsy sledgehammer.
The original is noted especially for its shock ending. This remake seems initially to be going for the same thing and then suddenly backtracks - with remorseless characters suddenly developing consciences and people conducting themselves in ways not previously indicated in their respective behavior. By the time all of the leads end up in a watery fight, one realizes what a foolish level to which the film has sunk. One is sternly advised to locate either the original French classic or one of its TV counterparts before descending to this entry.
The same cannot be said for the first dunderheaded attempt to cinematically remake the French classic for American audiences. Keeping the original name, story and setting would seem a step in the right direction, but the film fails due to some incredibly foolish choices.
The action takes place at a private boys prep school overseen by the hateful Chazz Palminteri. In between stealing funds from the school, Palminteri enjoys subjecting wife Isabelle Adjani - who suffers from a weak heart - to assorted cruelties. In his spare time, he engages in S&M with ice queen blond teacher Sharon Stone. The two women - tired of his abuse - decide to murder him, drop his body in the disgustingly filthy school pool and make it appear that he drowned in a drunken accident. Naturally, nothing goes according to plan.
The best thing about this film is probably the casting of Sharon Stone in the role made famous by French actress Simone Signoret. If anyone embodies some of the same cunning and sensuality of Signoret from the original in a modern actress, it would be Stone. Unfortunately, the screenplay and everything around her fails to support her in any way.
The changes made to the screenplay are not improvements. While a remake need not be slavishly faithful to the original, it should not completely go off the beaten path the way that this film does, particularly in its finale. The shock twist ending of the original may no longer be fresh, but the shaggy dog pseudo-feminist tilt tacked on to this latest effort seems to come completely from left field and is a blatant misfire.
If Stone was an inspired choice, the remainder of the cast is less so. Isabelle Adjani, looking puffy and listless, is completely underwhelming as the abused wife. At no point does she engage our sympathy and she often seems entirely too lacking in energy to be remotely terrified. This may well be the most laid-back "frightened" performance one has ever seen on celluloid.
Kathy Bates shows up as a detective investigating Palmineri's disappearance and driving the women to distraction. Her performance is immensely enjoyable and she seems to be having a good time. As a cancer survivor, she gets to crack completely inappropriate jokes and attempts to lay the groundwork for the "we're all sisters under the skin" meme that creeps into the film's finale. Unfortunately, her character and performance belongs in a completely different (and one would argue better) film.
And the casting of Chazz Palminteri as the abusive schoolmaster is a disaster. Palminteri, providing the same performance here as he does in his guise of the reliable Mafia hit man roles in which he specializes, is laughably miscast. As tough as he comes off, Adjani could arguably physically match him and Stone could step on him without blinking twice. Not only that, but we have to believe that there was something that attracted these two attractive women to him and kept them in his orbit when they could easily have moved on. Palminteri, resembling a large trout, and playing a man with the charisma of a barracuda, seems an impossible prospect for these women. We have to believe that one lovely woman would fall for him (much less two) and no gigantic leap of faith can make this happen.
Director Jeremiah Chechik has absolutely no idea how to maintain suspense or an atmosphere of foreboding. The scene shifts are klutzy and obvious. The pacing is often laborious, which allows the viewer time to mull over the complexities of the plots and double-crosses played out before us and realize how absurd the entire scenario truly is - something that the original (as well as its TV remakes) never allowed the viewer time to contemplate. This material needs a skilled hand, but what is provided is a clumsy sledgehammer.
The original is noted especially for its shock ending. This remake seems initially to be going for the same thing and then suddenly backtracks - with remorseless characters suddenly developing consciences and people conducting themselves in ways not previously indicated in their respective behavior. By the time all of the leads end up in a watery fight, one realizes what a foolish level to which the film has sunk. One is sternly advised to locate either the original French classic or one of its TV counterparts before descending to this entry.