Backstage (2005)

One for the Girls

"Backstage"

One for the Girls

Amos Lassen and the Cinema Pride

Strand Released is issuing an intense drama on April 3, 2007. "Backstage" is a mesmerizing film which tells the story of a pop star and an admirer and the film deals with the line of separation between star and fan or fanatic. Lucie (Isild Le Besco) obsessively admires pop diva Lauren Waks (Emmanuel Seigner who happens to be Mrs. Roman Polanski) and manages to somehow worm her wife into the life of her idol. Here in a variation of "All About Eve" we have drama that is so tense I almost felt like I was watching an entire new film genre.
"Backstage" looks at sanity in the world of rock and roll. Is the star who narcisstically searches for approval, love and acceptance as
crazy as the obsessive fans who spend hours and days waiting to get a glimpse of the person they so idolize? What is it about celebrities that make people act so out of the ordinary?
After seeing Lauren sing at a concert, Lucie is surprised (to say the least) when Lauren comes to her home and sings a love song to her while cameras record the activity. Lucie had been selected to participate in a new variety show, "Backstage" and this interlude is her reward. Lucie is overwhelmed to the nth degree and emotion so overtakes hr that she escapes to her bedroom which is almost a museum dedicated to Lauren.
The following day Lucie takes off for Paris to search for Lauren in order to stay in some kind of contact with her. Together with other fans she camps out in front of the hotel where Lauren is staying and is successful in getting inside by throwing a fit outside of Lauren's suite. She also gains acceptance into Lauren's group of personal fans and
even does small chores for her idol. She is even there to comfort Lauren when she faces insecurity and exhaustion. Lucie has an even stranger plan in mind for Lauren--she plans to have her ex-boyfriend impregnate her and then give the baby to Lauren. The behavior of the two women is bizarre--we do not usually see this kind of fan/star obsession so openly played out.
What makes this movie so fascinating is the approach it takes as it looks at the strange relationship between star and star-struck. The way each side relates to the other is with dependence. The star has little to depend upon apart from image and a need for acceptance and attention. It is the fan who supplies that. At the same time the star fears and sometimes even dislikes the fan. As the lives of the two mesh and come together we see where each side is emotionally dependent upon the other. In "Backstage" that co-dependence leads the characters to the verge of destruction.
Everything about this move is first class. The music is outstanding and the stars fill and take on their roles with greatness. The script is excellently written and the movie is like a fine novel that you do not want to end because you enjoy it so much. "Backstage" is a fine piece of filmmaking that should not be missed.
March 29, 2007

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