Cert 15
96 mins
BBFC advice: very strong language, strong sex references
Right. That's it. The World Cup is out of the way following England's wretched display against Uruguay and after having a bellyful of the inane pundits I turned to some much-needed culture.
Unlike the football, Venus In Fur shows two of the world's best living up to their billing by giving every ounce of themselves to their performance.
And the added bonus is that this is a return to form for the film's director, Roman Polanski.
Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amarlric star in Polanski's film adaptation of David Ives' Broadway play which is set in a theatre.
Amalric is a writer who has adapted the 19th century novel by Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch, which inspired the term masochism.
He is struggling to find his lead actress when a feisty and rather down-at-heel woman (Seigner) bursts into the theatre, late and bedraggled by the rain.
After much verbal jousting she persuades him that she should read for the part even though he presumes she will be completely unsuitable.
However, he is in for a wonderful surprise and the movie audience is then treated to an exploration of two two characters through the fictional play's script.
Venus In Fur slides between high-brow and the gutter seamlessly thanks to the brilliance of its leads.
Seigner is adept at appearing to be trailer trash but then swiftly demonstrates an alluring air of high culture.
Ives and Polanski worked together on the screenplay and their words are razor-sharp spears in the hands of Amalric and Seigner
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 8.5/10