I heard some really bad things about this remake of the classic French film 'Les Diaboliques', and I would never have expected it to be a patch on the brilliant original anyway; the only reason I even bothered to watch it is because it happened to be on TV, and there happened to be nothing else on. However, after the first half hour or so; while the film indeed is nothing on the original, it seemed like it was going to end up being a decent thriller. But then the problems start; the parts where the original's character reflected on what they'd done were the best parts of the film; here they're extremely boring, and that's where the film falls down. The plot is basically the same as the original and focuses on a school which is ran by a man with a wife and a mistress; neither of which like him. They decide that killing him would be a great idea, and promptly do it. However, after disposing of the body in the school swimming pool and later having it emptied; the body isn't there! And what's worse is that the women start to find clues that he may still be alive...
It's a real shame that this film wasn't better as the two female leads are excellent. I'm not sure that I would have made it all the way to the end if it wasn't for the fact that I had the beautiful Isabelle Adjani to admire. It's not her greatest performance and she seems to be on autopilot, but she fits into the scared mousy role well. She is joined by Sharon Stone, who is brilliantly cast as Adjani's colder and more collected opposite number. Stone also looks good, which is certainly a bonus considering the shortcomings of the rest of the film. The problem with the second half of the film is really that it's not interesting, and there aren't enough other things going on to make up for it. There's a hint of a lesbian relationship between the two leads, though nothing really comes of it; definitely a big mistake considering how great they both look! Having already seen the original, the ending came as no surprise; but I'm certain that I could have guessed anyway as there soon becomes only one way that it can go. Overall, I could probably watch Isabelle Adjani all day long; but not when the film in question is this one. There's not much point bothering with this...see the original instead.
