DEMON LOVER
France, 2002, 130 minutes, Colour.
Connie Neilson, Charles Berling, Chloe Sevigny, Gina Gershon, Dominique Reymond, Jean-Baptiste? Malartre.
Directed by Olivier Assayas.
In recent years, Olivier Assayas has shown great versatility in subjects of his films (contemporary relationships, comic strip characters - Irma Vep - and 19th century relationships) as well as differing cinematic styles and flair. The first part of this delving into the seedy and greedy world of big business, especially for violent and pornographic websites, is post-Wall Street gloss as Connie Nielson lies and bullies in her attempts at business espionage. Then she and the film descent into a post-David Lynch alternate world as coherent and meaningless as one of the sadistic computer games. Sorting all this out into a coherent comment on today's amoral world should absorb many hours of those willing to give it a go.
1. The impact of the film? Coherence in narrative plot? Coherence in style? Demanding attention from its audience? The 21st century world and style? 21st century in content, values, lack of values?
2. Assayas's other films: autobiographical and contemporary, historical with Les Destines Sentimental? The director commenting that this film belonged to his rock and roll side? The music and the tone of the credits?
3. The structure of the film: the Wall Street and corporate espionage? The insertion of the video games, pornography leading to action leading to another world and style and the leading lady caught up in the computer games? The seeming homage to David Lynch, especially in Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive with the latter part of the film, and echoes of Suburban Blue Velvet at the end?
4. The musical score, the songs, the sound engineering for the action, for the computer games, for the pornography?
5. Volf as a businessman, on the plane, dictating letters to Diane, preparing the deals, the takeovers? Reliance on Karen and Herve, Elise as the secretary and sitting in economy? Diane and the drink, the attack on Karen at the airport, her collapse, the abduction, snatching the briefcase? Her going to hospital? Diane being promoted? The personality clashes within the office, especially Diane and Elise? The irony of the issues of who was spying for whom? Diane and the rival company? The scene of her jogging, swimming, going on the metro, the contact, her bank account and the other meetings? The demands made by the rival company on her? Their hold over her?
6. Action going back and forth from France to Japan? Tokyo scenes, the computer industry, information technology, two-dimension and third-dimensional developments, pornography and violent developments? The discussions about what was possible on Japanese media compared with European? Legal issues? The age of models? The group playing hard ball with the Japanese to get the best possible deals? The Japanese and their hosting, the sexual favours? The faxes coming from Europe?
7. The character of Diane, as a secretary, her undermining Karen, the drink? Promotion, the comments on her as an ice queen? The clashes with Herve? With Elise? In Japan and the sexual encounter with Herve? Ignoring Karen? Her role in the deals, studying the documents, betraying the company?
8. Herve and his place in the company, personal style, working with Diane and Elise, the deals with the Japanese, the sexual encounters?
9. Elise and her place as a secretary, the dogsbody, doing all the jobs, on Karen's side and supporting her? The clashes with Diane? Support from Herve? The irony of where her loyalties really lay?
10. The visiting Americans and their websites, their deals, covering of distribution, statistics on pornography, the Hellfire Club? Elise helping Elaine with her clothes? Elaine's character, her associate, the lawyer? Playing hard ball with the French? Diane going to her room, the struggle and her death? Elise and the others cleaning up the room and the evidence?
11. Elise and her beginning to dominate Diane, coming with the gun and Karen's message? Karen's visit to Diane?
12. The watching of pornography, the discussion of the sites, seeing pornography as a business? The effect on Herve, the effect on Diane?
13. Diane surrendering to the world of the computer games? The change of film style with her going into the game, her being abducted, tortured, the role of Elise, the men guarding her, her escape, the car chase and crashes? The violence? Her dress and her manner like Assayas's film Irma Vep?
14. The irony of the American whiz-kid at home, the programming, looking at the sites and going into the Hellfire Club while his mother wanted him to have his meals?
15. The sense of the narrative? The credibility of the characters? The world of business and back-stabbing, the cutthroat world of corporate espionage?
16. Issues of information technology and their effect? Pornography, sex and violence and contemporary society?
