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'Boarding Gate': Ambitious Neo-noir

By Marcos Bernal-Salas

Friday, March 21, 2008

‘Boarding Gate’, the latest film from French director Olivier Assayas, is an attractive thriller with a leisurely pace and sordid games of manipulation. The exploitation tactics in the film might be a hard sale to keep the regular movie going audience in their seats. Of course, ‘Boarding Gate’ is not a regular film either, its Neo-noir style and storyline is a perfect fit for a film festival debut or an art house theater. Rightly so, the film was an Official Selection of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. With all international cast at the helm Assayas delivers an exciting film that takes the audience from the high London financial suites to the mischievous world of Honk Kong.

Asia Argento plays the lead character in ‘Boarding Gate’. Sandra, an ex-prostitute is a flawed woman in the search for something more, a better life or true love. Though the latter might need to be nicely wrapped in a leather outfit, whips and handcuffs. Assayas present this sort of S&M side of Sandra, which also serves as catalyst in the film, based on the relationship with her debt ridden lover Miles (Michael Madsen). This is the sort of “erotic” label that the filmmaker and company attach to the film though in all honesty the seduction and dangerous liaisons here are tamer than any erotic thriller I ever seen before. It’s not that the art of seduction and eroticism needs to be vulgar but it doesn’t quite entice or scandalize the viewer either.

Maybe it’s because it all gets lost in translation here. After all this is Assayas English film debut – a sort of B movie flick, with a guerilla budget and shoot calendar that might have work if only the ideas and creative freedom were in French. Yes, I would have liked to see ‘Boarding Gate’ in the filmmaker’s native language first. The narrative definitely works – perhaps the film’s saving grace – which is cleverly paired with Argento’s organic performance. She is able to deliver a flawed character throughout the film taking on different choices that will emotionally connect Sandra with the audience. Carl Ng and Kelly Lin are also magnificent in the film portraying the attractive young couple that traps Sandra in their web of betrayal and deception. Madsen is interesting – for the lack of a better word – sometimes his subtlety works and sometimes it does not.

‘Boarding Gate’ is definitely a great English language debut film for Olivier Assayas. He is able to craft a remarkable Neo-noir thriller with great cinematic style and performances. Though the ‘erotic’ part of it might need to be reconsidered for his next film.

For More info on the film visit this site