A family gathers for Christmas holidays in the snowy countryside of 1950s France. However, what's to celebrate when the patriarch has been murdered by one of the eight women in the house? Each one is a suspect and only one of them is guilty. Was it the wife? The maid? The housekeeper? The daughters? Who killed Marcel? Paranoia and suspicion take place, leading to hysteria, suspense, conspiracy, seduction, scandal, lies, revelations and betrayal.
8 Femmes is an estrogen-filled Hitchcockian theatrical comedy/musical drama directed by the brilliant François Ozon, featuring references reminiscent of Classical Hollywood cinema. It starts as a standart Poirot-like murder mystery, with some dark family secrets rising to the surface.
From gorgeous Catherine Deneuve (one word: diva), Isabelle Huppert and charming Fanny Ardant (as Pierrette, the black sheep of the family who, at some point, makes out with Catherine Deneuve on the living room floor) to Emmanuelle Béart, Ludivine Sagnier and Virginie Ledoyen... What a cast! Their catty dialogue is absolutely fabulous!
The rich and vividly colourful cinematography harkens back to a technicolor dream in its eye-candy charm and sumptuous Hollywoodesque setting. And the costumes, oh my word, the costumes! Fashion wise, it's one of the best french films I've ever watched - it's highly stylized, glamorous, melodramatic, amusing... And I'm not even a big fan of musicals myself but I do love this one! It's definitely worth checking out. Get your popcorn ready!
