--- title: "Femme Fatale: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/femme-fatale/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/femme-fatale" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Femme Fatale (2002): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 11 reviews: 8 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative. ## Los Angeles Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2002. The critic calls the film an exuberant, blissfully entertaining thriller and one of the smartest, most pleasurable expressions of pure movie love from an American director in years, praising its visual majesty, high-octane jolts, and transporting qualities. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-nov-06-et-dargis6-story.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 8 November 2002. The critic calls it a brilliant thriller that turns criticisms of being showy and derivative into strengths, creating a rich, meta hall of mirrors full of humor, suspense, and eroticism. He notes it as a return to form financed outside Hollywood, condensing De Palma's career obsessions for fans. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/femme-fatale-1798198027) ## Film Comment — Michael Koresky Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 July 2019. The critic finds Femme Fatale to be De Palma’s queerest film, with its awareness of sex and identity as performances creating exhilarating layers of game-playing and self-reflexivity. The sinuous, virtuosic 20-minute opening heist sequence stands out for its distancing effects and eroticism of cinephilia. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/queer-and-now-and-then-2002/) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 March 2003. The critic praises De Palma's film as a work of pure aesthetic rapture with sinuous camera movements and dreamlike water imagery that rewards repeated viewings. He highlights the director's self-reflexive use of split-screen, dualities, and correction of noir tropes through the lead performance. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/femme-fatale-dvd/) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 3 May 2011. This elegantly dreamy film is as rich and strange as anything De Palma has made, outrageous, provocative and fun with a twist that may alienate half the audience. The visuals are often breathtaking and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos makes a poised anti-heroine. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/femme-fatale) ## Empire — Ian Johnston Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic notes that this low-budget Euro picture marked a return to form for Brian De Palma despite straight-to-video status. De Palma uses split screen, narrative twists and a strong score to turn neo-noir conventions on their head, focusing on themes of identity and perception; the film is gorgeously shot and nicely noir. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/femme-fatale-review/) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2002. The critic finds the convoluted thriller may not suit viewers seeking narrative coherence or plausible emotion, but highlights its formal dexterity, visual inventiveness, and ability to deliver exhilaration and surprise through style and set pieces. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/06/movies/film-review-rooting-for-the-thieves-at-cannes.html) ## Variety — Lisa Nesselson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 29 April 2002. Festival review. The critic describes it as an extravagant suspense cocktail of wacky and lascivious ingredients that goes down fine, praising Rebecca Romijn-Stamos's performance as a confident predator and the stylish, off-kilter proceedings full of De Palma themes, while noting it may frustrate those preferring straightforward intrigue. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/femme-fatale-2-1200550040/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 8 May 2002. Festival review. The film is an enigmatic European art-movie disguised as a Hollywood thriller, with formal brilliance but an over-the-top storyline and emotional froideur that limits mainstream appeal. Buffs will find it an intriguing addition to De Palma's canon. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/femme-fatale/409128.article) ## /Film — Nick Bartlett Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 31 January 2022. Despite its poor reputation, the film is presented as worth revisiting for its visual storytelling, noir and giallo homages, and archetypal characters that allow De Palma’s style to shine. It is called his best work since 2000, though unfocused compared to his peak films. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/751849/the-14-best-brian-de-palma-movies-ranked/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating D+/C-. 28 August 2013. The critic finds the film undermined by a ridiculous twist ending that renders most of the story a cheat, along with weak characterization and plotting. Some credit is given for occasional salacious fun and the sheer watchability of its absurd storytelling. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/retrospective-the-films-of-brian-de-palma-20130828/7/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/femme-fatale.md