Advertising execs stab each other in the back over their careers and a an average looking cockney scrub in this mediocre pantomime thriller.

Rachel Mcadams is given the opportunity to prove she is more than just a rom-com princess in the role of the manipulative boss lady to Noomi Rapace's Ad campaign creator, an opportunity she squanders. It's not entirely her fault though with such a terrible script to work with there wasn't a lot she could do. Noomi Rapace is dreadful, for me she hasn't yet been convincing in an English language role and she is just either wooden or over the top in this. The plot twists are visible with your eyes closed and nothing will be a surprise. The only thing that kept me watching were the laughs and this isn't a comedy. Some of the dialogue is so stupid I just kept feeling my jaw drop.

When Rachel Mcadams tells a tragic story from her characters childhood and her and Noomi Rapace are just sat there sobbing it actually made me laugh because the acting was so terrible and the words they were saying were so poorly written. Add to this the amount of times you get one of those suddenly waking up from a dream moments (a cheap movie trick thats overused) that the film becomes a bit of a mess. So much of this is poor even down to the add campaign that triggers the war between these two women. Their clients are in such raptures over this dreadful idea that it's ridiculous. Also the rough looking guy they chose to play the love interest adds another comedy element to it. Why would these two attractive successful women be tearing each other apart over this guy?

I'm sure I read on some of the advertising that this was supposed to be an erotic thriller. There were no erotic moments in this film anywhere. I think someone pulled a dildo out a drawer at some point and there was a lesbian smooch thats all the eroticism you get I'm afraid.

I can't believe this was directed by De Palma. I have enjoyed many of his films in the past and I hope this is just a blip and not the shape of the things to come

I had grown disappointed with Brian DePalma throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The man who gave us "Phantom of the Paradise", "Carrie", "Dressed to Kill", "Scarface" and "Carlito's Way"* suddenly turned to overblown stuff like "Mission: Impossible", "Snake Eyes" and "The Black Dahlia". So it's a little bit of a treat to see "Passion". It's not as good as his early work, but the tension between the main characters is definitely what I hope for in one of his movies. In fact, DePalma tricks the audience by getting them to think that it's a clash-of-egos story...before the real plot line sets in. Far from her perky roles in previous movies, Rachel McAdams plays a scary executive. The viewer practically wishes for Noomi Rapace's character to do something nasty.

Basically, "Passion" has a hint of what usually made DePalma's movies good. It's probably not going to be for everyone, but I liked it.

*For the record, I didn't think that "Bonfire of the Vanities" was that bad.

This German set remake of a French erotic thriller, lacks little of Brian De Palmas's visual flourishes apart from one ballet set scene.

Christine (Rachel Adams) is an advertising executive in the fashion world in Germany who is angling for a big promotion at her firm's New York office. She has taken credit of her assistant's ideas, Isabelle (Noomi Rapace) and the promotion is all but guaranteed. However this is now in jeopardy when Isabelle impresses her bosses with a social media campaign that goes viral.

So mutual jealousy at work spills over to their personal lives. Isabelle is having an affair with Christine's lover Dirk (Paul Anderson.) Dirk is also siphoning money from the advertising company which Christine has been covering up for.

None of the characters are likable, eve Christine has casual affairs. Once her promotion is at risk, she humiliates Isabelle at every turn and when Christine is found dead, Isabelle being a prime suspect.

De Palma is a long way from his glory days of The Untouchables or Carlito's Way. He is hampered by a modest budget and a script that he co-wrote. Too many times he has to fall back on dream sequences and just characters doing stupid or nasty things. For example what was that about Isabelle crashing her car into the car park columns? When Isabelle was given evidence of Dirk pilfering the company, she had enough to finish Christine off for good.

The film has a lesbian subtext which is weak but works better with another character but it still comes across as misguided.