D'après une histoire vraie

Long ago,Roman Polanski had warned us: beware of the neighbors, beware of those would be friends who ,little by little, work their way in to your intimate world : that was "Rosemary 's baby" and "le locataire " (the tenant ") ;paranoia had also been the subject of "repulsion" .

"D'après une histoire vraie" is psychological drama of the first order : Emmanuelle Seignier is as good as ever but the stand out is her co-star Eva Green : if looks could kill,her piercing green eyes certainly would ; always friendly ,but with something hard ,something threatening ;her motives remain obscure: a doppelganger , a lesbian attraction, something related to family past, a complete unknown in search of fame through an intermediary?

Green goes as far as to look like her victim, adopting her hairdo ( recalling sometimes Claude Chabrol's "les biches " ) .And the ending remains ambiguous ,you can interpret it according to your own sensitivity .

A weakness in the screenplay : the meeting with the librarian :the probability was close to zero! This is minor quibble though.

After a tremendous success of her debut autobiographical novel dedicated to her late mother , writer Delphine Dayrieux (Emmanuelle Seigner) goes through a tough and difficult period. After the release of her latest book , as she gets involved with an obstinate admirer , Ella (Eva Green) . The lonely and unsuspecting Parisian author , realises that there are cold and unrelenting haters among a sea of worshippers . On the other hand , step by step , Elle intrudes clandestinely into the life of the tormented and tired writer . Elle attempts to break Delphine's persistent block. Little by little , Elle becomes designingly essential to Delphine. Worse still , Elle turns into fury when she reads her projected new novel.....

This is an attractive story in short budget about the classic confrontation between two stars , with ordinay battle of wills . None of it is exactly unpredictable , but director Roman Polanski does it well within its limitations and gettting well-observed portraits from Emmanuelle Seigner as writer Delphine Dayrieux and Eva Green as her obsessed fan Elle . Concerning the already seen plot of the elusive and alluringly enigmatic woman , Elle , who is bent on helping Delphine , a blocked writer with her illusions and own inner demons . That's why the film sounds quite like ¨Misery¨by Rob Reiner and ¨The Ghost Writer¨ by director Polanski himself . Starring duo are pretty good . In fact , in my opinion Eva Green gives a better acting - as the passionate admirer, and cryptic new friend- than Polanski's wife , Emmanuelle Seigner . Being Roman Polanski's fifth collaboration with Emmanuelle Seigner . However , the film is slow-moving and really dull , until the final part in which tension , suspense and thriller enhances , getting success enough.

It displays a colorful and adequate cinematography by cameraman Pawel Edelman , Polanski's regular . This is Roman Polanski's sixth feature film collaboration with cinematographer Pawel Edelman . As well as evocative and exciting musical score by French composer Alexandre Desplat . The motion picture was co-written and professionally directed by the Polish Roman Polanski . Polanski's cinematic trajectory is hard , problematic and full of incidents. In 1968, Polanski went to Hollywood, where he made the psychological thriller, Rosemary's Baby (1968). However, after the brutal murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974, he again made a US release - it was Chinatown (1974) . It seemed the beginning of a promising Hollywood career, but after his conviction for the sodomy of a 13-year old girl, Polanski fled from he USA to avoid prison. After Tess (1979), which was awarded several Oscars and Cesars, his works in 1980s and 1990s became intermittent and rarely approached the caliber of his earlier films. In 1992 made Bitter Moon , but it doesn't succeed as the erotic drama it's intented to be and including some ludicrous lines from what must be Polanski's worst movie . It wasn't until The pianist (2002) that Polanski came back to full form. His career is full of hits and some flops , such as : his big success Rosemary's Baby , Chinatown, The pianist , Oliver Twist , Frantic, Dance of vampire , among others . And The Ghost Writer (2010) in which Polanski was arrested September 2009 in Switzerland, post-production was never put on hold , he then oversaw every step of the film and made all of the artistic decisions. He finished editing the movie while in a Swiss prison and in December 2009, Roman was released on bail but placed under house arrest . And later Polanski made Carnage (2011) , Venus in furs (2013) , J'accuse (2019) and this D'après une histoire vraie (2017) or Based on a True Story (World-wide, English title) whose rating is 6/10 .

His first traditional creeper since The Ninth Gate, the film is genuinely unnerving, boasting Polanski's trademark scares and sprinkled with just enough meta-storytelling elements to pique the intellect.

Emmanuelle Seigner, often Polanski's muse, to mixed results, shines differently here. Instead of playing the femme fatale, she channels the essence of Peter Coyote's character from Bitter Moon. Drenched in sweat, reactive and constantly piecing together the puzzle, she offers a fresh on-screen exploration, showcasing the dynamic director-actor partnership they share.

"Based on a True Story" is a delightful flirtation with meta-storytelling elements. Although it doesn't delve deep into fiction versus reality or authorship complexities, it stands as an homage to films that do. Seigner's portrayal of a writer becomes Polanski's medium to tip his hat to the films that traverse the ambiguous boundaries between life and art. The narrative is like a scenic tour of meta-cinematic themes. It feels familiar yet offers a refreshed perspective, akin to revisiting known terrains with a new lens.

Interestingly, while Polanski's style has inspired many, including Darren Aronofsky, shades of Aronofsky's influence are palpable in this piece. Artistic inspirations often come full circle.

The film evokes memories of classics like Misery, and the co-dependent merging reminiscent of Persona. It's not merely a thriller; it's an exercise in "thriller". Every character, even the background ones, are meticulously cast and memorable, elevating the movie-watching experience.

However, there are unexplored territories, especially the ending which left me anticipating a specific revelation. It's a familiar tune but rendered beautifully.

Eva Green made 'D'après une histoire vraie' captivating. Her performance is beyond art. She has insanely captivating energy as Elle. Eva brings tension, alertness, and suspense on screen. She'll own you if you watch this. Other than that, the movie is solid average. It has that unique emotion that follows you from the beginning to the end. Actors played great roles, considering the part mentioned above, because the plot has gaps.

Although i am an admirer of both the main actress and the director, this movie was extremely underwhelming for me. It's a psychological thriller/drama of sorts, yet there is no sense of urgency to it and the story is somewhat uninvolving, as no particular emotional connection with the characters is established. We never see what exactly is so bewitching about the character of Delphine - she's a bipolar flat line for most of the movie. The plotting is scattershot and somewhat random; the scenery and the cinematography are typical of a French movie of this kind, although a little too much grey/colorless; the performances are nothing special.

Even if one embraces a metaphorical/hallucinatory reading of the film - for which there are many great arguments - it doesn't make it much more interesting.

A basket full of missed opportunities; wouldn't recommend.