Jean-Jacques Beineix makes romance and pursuit share an unusually playful thriller. Diva is worth watching for Philippe Rousselot’s camerawork and Vladimir Cosma’s music, though the elaborate plot sometimes seems to exist chiefly to keep the pictures coming.
Diva is a playful, enjoyable thriller whose complicated plot occasionally gets in the way. Jean-Jacques Beineix brings romance and criminal pursuit together with enough pleasure in movement, music and colour to make most of the contrivances forgivable. We recommend it, with the warning that its appetite for incident exceeds its interest in making every incident count. The attractions are immediate: the speed of a chase, the pause for romance, the chance to look around a Paris that has been carefully dressed.
Philippe Rousselot’s cinematography gives that city a heightened appearance without making it wholly unrecognisable. The camera has time for a lyrical look at its surroundings, then finds the agility a pursuit needs. We were delighted by the chases, because the camera’s freedom makes the prospect of being pursued seem briefly exhilarating. The danger gives the movement a purpose, but Jean-Jacques Beineix leaves space for the sheer enjoyment of watching people and a camera negotiate it.
Hilton McConnico’s production design contributes as much as the photography. The decor mixes the polish of a fashion spread with odd, pop-art arrangements that invite a second look. These interiors have been composed with an enthusiasm that makes their conspicuous artificiality easy to accept, and they suit a romance built on unlikely possibilities. The city remains recognisable enough to give the crime story somewhere to happen, while allowing the romantic side of the film to become extravagantly fanciful.
Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte and Monique Prim edit with a good sense of how long a thriller can keep us waiting for its next burst of movement. Their cutting helps the chases generate tension amid all the visual distractions. Vladimir Cosma’s music supplies another source of momentum, keeping the film buoyant through its changes of pace and interest. We can hear why the music belongs here: its propulsion matches the restless pictures, and gives the elaborate plotting some help it badly needs.
The weakness is in the screenplay by Jean-Jacques Beineix and Jean Van Hamme. Its complications can keep us occupied without making us much more involved, and at 117 minutes there is room for that distinction to become irritating. The occasional joke about how clever all this is does not help; Jean-Jacques Beineix sometimes seems reluctant to let a flourish pass without our noticing it. Those interruptions make the romantic and criminal strands feel more awkwardly joined. A little less insistence would have left the film’s wit intact.
Against the demands of a tightly plotted crime thriller, Diva is sometimes undisciplined. Yet the time given to romance is welcome, and the attention lavished on the city makes it possible to enjoy stretches that do little to simplify the story. The film allows excitement to include curiosity about a place, a face or a piece of music, which is a welcome expansion of what a chase can offer. Choose it when the pleasure of looking and listening can take priority over checking the plot.
