A movie review of "House of Pleasures," Bertrand Bonello's somber, hypnotic film set almost entirely inside an elegant Parisian brothel at the end of the 19th century.
Early in the movie, when she entertains a handsome client who produces an emerald, she wonders out loud if the gift is a proposal. But this tender moment is only a dream.
The young man confesses that he wants to hurt her. In a subsequent encounter, he produces a knife and slashes her from both corners of her mouth. Throughout the film, there is an abundance of sumptuously photographed flesh on view.
The heavy candlelit chiaroscuro paints the women as mobile Renoirs and Degases. Share story. By Stephen Holden. Most Read Entertainment Stories Missy Elliott electrifies Climate Pledge Arena in her first headlining tour Kidnapping of California woman that police called a hoax gets new attention with Netflix documentary Try these audiobooks for your summer road trip Museum of Illusions opens in Seattle.
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