Reviews

I just wanted to say I think this is the first time I see so many reviews by discriminatory guys with a penchant for stuffing their disgust upon an actress just because she does not fit the young Brigitte Bardot image, or whatever.

Melina Mercouri is playing the role of Elizabeth Lipps in a really charming way and the way she acts fits perfectly well with the setup of this movie, which is meant to be serious and funny as well. There's absolutely no reason te be impressed by the selective misogyny in the reviews. In fact, all actors are doing great, and they're all funny in their own way. I love those old movies, they don't make them that way anymore.

This movie used Comedy as its most pertinent means of expression. Maybe one should have told this to its audiences and film critics all the time. Although it may not have helped anyway, as the movie unmasks too much of the inner desires, frustrations and perhaps trauma, the dramatic criticasterism was inevitable - and the film's best evidence of exceptionalism.

I was surprised that some (who nevertheless consider it a great film) would think Nomi characterizes the loser-woman, who is being manipulated. Maybe it's a misconception of what it means to be manipulated. It occurs to me that Paul Verhoeven gave Elizabeth Berkley this lead role in his comedy because he knew she could, like no one else, give this pure expression of the inner strenght and resiliance that women often have much more than men, end Nomi more than many others.

Nomi holds up before any audience the mirror of intense recognition of the modern, that is Western world. Hollywood at its purest, a relentless display of modernity. And Woman comes out of it as the one who was, just a few hunderd years ago, still designated "hysteria" as a female disease. But what was this hysteria other than woman's capacity to connect with the many semblances of reality at once, not succumbing to (male) binary thinking, and having the resiliance to somehow get along through all of it?

I think Paul Verhoeven understands this world all too well - including the crucial - if sometimes excruciating - place and role of women in it - and men's trouble to really get it.

Reviewer jordan_bell is too cynic and does not seem to like or understand film noir. I agree with the 2 other reviewers that Depardieu in particular is impressive throughout the entire movie. Strong character, reminds sometimes of Inspecteur Maigret (as played by Jean Gabin), also always film-noir-ish. But Depardieu adds an emotional and uncertain (even endearing), doubting, dark edge to that. And most surrounding characters are doing well too if you ask me.

This is a character movie. You will want to revisit certain scenes because they have touched something in you.