Femme Fatale

Laure Ash pulls off a diamond theft at the Cannes Film Festival, double-crosses her accomplices and escapes to Paris with the jewels. There she assumes the identity of a woman who resembles her, then leaves France and marries a diplomat, building a respectable new life. Seven years later her husband is posted to Paris, where a photographer with ties to the tabloid press takes her picture and publishes it. The image exposes her to the criminals she betrayed, who want the diamonds or revenge, and the woman who once profited from disappearing must deal with the people she left behind.

Brian De Palma wrote and directed this crime thriller, the twentieth of twenty-four features he has directed in chronological order, arriving between Mission to Mars and The Black Dahlia. Rebecca Romijn plays the dual role of Laure Ash and Lily Watts, with Antonio Banderas as the photographer Nicolas Bardo, Peter Coyote as Watts, and Ériq Ebouaney, Édouard Montoute and Rie Rasmussen in supporting parts. Production involved 62 credited cast members and 48 credited crew, with Marina Gefter and Tarak Ben Ammar producing for Warner Bros. Pictures with Quinta Communications and Epsilon Motion Pictures.

Made for about 35 million dollars, the film returned roughly 17 million worldwide, less than its cost. Audiences are divided on it: on IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from 39,000 votes and on TMDB 6.2 out of 10 from 686 votes. A critics' rating of 5.6 out of 10 from 137 reviews places it slightly below those viewer scores.