BETWEEN MEEK AND MURDEROUS卿本佳人
世界電影俱樂部Dangerous women who will keep you guessing.
THE FEMME FATALE was first popularised in medieval literature to caution against female sexuality. In film noir, they’re dangerous women who use their charms to manipulate men. This archetype feels outdated today, but tales of dangerously seductive women continue to fascinate storytellers today.
Based on Nikolai Leskov’s novel Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, the film Lady Macbeth is about Katherine (Florence Pugh), a woman who would do anything to escape her loveless, humiliating marriage, embarking on a passionate affair with the stable boy.
The script by playwright Alice Birch, who moves the setting from Russia to rural England, unflinchingly depicts the cruelty that besets Katherine and the violence she unleashes on those who get in her way. Keeping his camera on brutal moments of both the emotional and physical kind, director William Oldroyd presents a raw and uncompromising vision of misogyny in the upper class. As Katherine, 21-year-old Pugh will command your attention from the beginning to the chilling final shot, transforming from a bored, desperate housewife to a vicious anti-heroine. It’s truly a star-making performance.
Equally compelling and no less complex is the titular character in My Cousin Rachel.
Young Philip (Sam Claflin) believes that his beloved cousin and guardian, Ambrose, was murdered by Ambrose’s wife, Rachel (Rachel Weisz). Philip invites Rachel to his estate, plotting a course for revenge. What he doesn’t expect is to fall hopelessly in love with this charming house guest.
My Cousin Rachel is adapted from the book by Daphne du Maurier, whose stories Rebecca and The Birds
were both adapted into films by Alfred Hitchcock. So it’s no surprise that My Cousin Rachel also has the flavour of a Hitchcockian mystery. The film deftly plays with perception, introducing red herrings into Weisz’s enigmatic performance. The mystery itself is not that complex, but Weisz’s take on the character keeps us intrigued. 禍水紅顏這種角色從中世紀的文學作品中開始廣為流行，用以警惕世人女性擁有的誘人殺傷力，而在黑色電影中，亦不乏利用美色操控男性的蛇蠍美人。在當今年代，這種角色類型固然不合時宜，但編劇們依然樂此不疲地塑造迷人而危險的女性角色，迷倒眾生。
電影《馬克白夫人的誘惑 》改編自Nikolai Leskov的小說《Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District》，由Florence Pugh飾演的女主角 Katherine 為了與愛得熾熱的馬伕雙宿雙棲，不惜一切擺脫毫無感情的婚姻桎梏。
編劇Alice Birch把背景從原作的俄羅斯改為英國的鄉郊，血淋淋地描繪了Katherine 面對的不人道對待，以及她遇敵殺敵的瘋狂行徑。導演William Oldroyd亦集中表現上流階層對女性的厭惡，並如實展現慘不忍睹的場面，毫無美化或修飾。21歲的Pugh飾演女主角 Katherine，是全片的觸目之處，她把本來是呆在家裡納悶絕望的家庭主婦，漸漸變成兇狠殘暴的女魔頭演繹得絲絲入扣，從開場到令人不寒而慄的結局一幕均吸引了所有觀眾的目光，演技達星級水準。
同樣引人入勝而複雜糾纏的角色，還有《My Cousin Rachel》的女主角Rachel。年輕的Philip（Sam Claflin飾）與表兄兼監護人Ambrose 感情深厚，後者猝然而逝，他深信是表嫂 Rache（lRachel Weisz 飾）下的毒手。他邀請了表嫂到家中大宅作客，打算展開報復計劃，誰料意想不到的是，自己竟然情不自禁地愛上這位迷人放蕩的客人。
《My Cousin Rachel》改編自達芬．杜．莫里哀的著作，她另外兩部小說《Rebecca》和《The Birds》亦分別被緊張大師Hitchcock拍攝成《蝴蝶夢》和《鳥》，難怪本片帶有Hitchcock式的驚慄懸疑氣氛。影片玩弄觀眾對事物的認知， Weisz疑幻疑真的曖昧演出旨在轉移視線。其實謎團的真相昭然若揭，但Weisz對角色的演繹卻令觀眾如墮五里霧中，無法猜透真偽。