Backstage

It would be lazy, but not really inaccurate to describe this as a modern-day French version of "All About Eve". It has a lot more sex (I said it's French) and kind of a bisexual twist (it's modern-day French). The story involves the young fan (Isilde LeBosco)of a pop star diva (Emmanuelle Seigner) who finds her way into the inner circle of her idol, but manages to sow a lot of discord by becoming involved with the idol's jackass boyfriend as well as inciting a no small amount of inter-generational lust in the idol herself. . .

Emmanuelle Seigner is perhaps MOST famous for being Mrs. Roman Polanski, and she has really done her best work in her husband's movies like "Bitter Moon" and "The Ninth Gate". She's not a GREAT actress, but she's always been a sexy and fearless performer. She seems a little long in the tooth to be a "teen idol", but, hey, she's a lot younger than Madonna. Isilde LeBesco seems to be a rather ordinary-looking girl, but she also possesses a hot little body which she has been showing off in French movies since she was the French-version of barely legal (I suspect Seigner probably had to keep her nubile co-star here away from her notorious husband). Seriously, LeBeco is also a very decent actress, and this movie is really both a classy French dramatic thriller AND a pretty hot inter-generational, bisexual sex romp. But if you prefer the former, I'd also recommend the similar French film "Love Crime", and if you prefer the latter, I'd recommend the film "Nathalie" with the other French Emmanuelle, Emmanuelle Beart (which was recently re-made as Canadian/US co-production "Chloe").

As for THIS film though, it's not "All About Eve", but it's certainly not a waste of time either.

Fans obsess over stars, yes, but when a celebrity is lonely, isolated, and needs someone in their life they can connect to, and control ... even a crazy fan may have some something to offer. Such is the premise of Backstage. As with many foreign movies its not just the plot, or the relationships, but the texture and feel of the world the characters inhabit that forms the "meat" of the film. And its a sad, manipulative, emotionally-starved world these people inhabit. Never having been a celebrity, nor a member of an "entourage", still I sense this movie "gets it right" as it tracks the characters efforts to find love and happiness in their dysfunctional, stifling unnatural world. Amazing performances from all cast members. Well worth a watch.

It's the performances that make this film worth seeing. Isild Le Besco's is amazing. Her face says it all. See this just to watch her, particularly in her happy moments. I was also very impressed with Nomie Lvovsky (plays a supporting role). She also was perfect in her non-verbal facial expression story telling.

The rock star/fans/entertainment industry plot is the framework, but the story isn't really about all that. The rendering of the plot is somewhat comic and melodramatic, but I believe this is intentional to keep all that from getting in the way of the real story which is the characters' passions and interactions. Even so, there is plenty of reality involved.

Had potential but falls back on the old French staple of style over substance. Some suspense but drifts and feels contrived.

Performance-wise, Isild Le Besco is irritating but Emmanuelle Seigner provides the suitable gravitas and hedonistic randomness as the pop star.

Emmanuelle Bercot - popular in France, little-known in the U.S. - may make a name for herself with "Backstage," opening today [1/5] at the Embarcadero Cinemas.

In this film she directed last year, a teenage groupie's fantasy comes true, turns into a nightmare, then resolved with a bizarre and chilling double-cross, in relentless action that often borders on melodrama.

If Bercot did nothing else except cast Isild Le Besco to play Lucie, the true believer in Lauren, a Blondie/Céline-like pop star (Emmanuelle Seigner), she would deserve much credit. Lucie is totally obsessed with Lauren - her room a shrine to the singer, every word of her songs memorized and internalized - and Le Besco makes the character scarily believable.

A veteran of 32 movies, the 24-year-old actress has the face and temperament of a chameleon, she is far from "Hollywood-pretty," but has a mesmerizing presence. It's high time American audiences get to see her. Le Besco's "strangeness, raw presence, combining a child's gentleness with the disturbing qualities of madness" (in Bercot's words) make an indelible impression.

Fan and star cross paths, and the monstrous diva brings the often catatonic idolater into her dysfunctional, chaotic life. All the power is on one side in this relationship, and yet - shades of "All About Eve"! - Lucie gets her way unexpectedly at times. A large, capable cast rounds out what is essentially a duet for the two women.

Without lecturing or preaching, Bercot unmasks ugly aspects of celebrity worship. Her script for the film ranges from pedestrian to insightful. As so many movies today, "Backstage" suffers from the lack of a decisive editor, overstaying its welcome by running almost two hours. It may remain unrated, but the realistic/intimate depiction of the pop star's life definitely puts it in the "R"-plus range.