Emmanuelle

This is a decidedly darker take in style and substance than the original. The cinematography is darker; where the original was mostly outdoors in the lush yellow sunshine of Bangkok, this version is all shadows and dark interiors. The characters are darker, too, more silent and secretive.

Noémie Merlant, while lovely, is sharper and more angular than Sylvia Kristel, and lacking in Kristel's pure, innocent beauty. She tends to play the part much less open and expressive, adding to the mystery.

The secondary and peripheral characters are mostly undeveloped. Naomi Watts is totally wasted in a very minor role, and no one else seems up to the task of becoming an important part of the story. This version also lacks the other beautiful bodies that populated the original. The nudity, such as it is, is far less copious and quite a bit less explicit, making the sexuality of the character almost a sidelight of her personality, rather than an important feature of the story.

For my taste, there's a whole lot more to like in the original, from Sylvia Kristel's stunning beauty, to the lush tropical scenery, to the beautiful bodies filling so many of the scenes. If you aren't going to make it better, why bother to remake it?

Aesthetically gorgeous. Apart from that, the script is almost laughable, and dialogs even more. No action, no word is believable, hence disconnected from the audience. I'm not quite sure what has been done to the sound, was every line redone post-production? It ends up being very flat and takes away the spice you would expect from such a great actress as Noemie Merlant. On this note, the entire cast is impressive for giving their very best to an empty shell.

A dozen people left the room during the movie, first one after 10 minutes. I myself fought to stay, out of respect for the cast and crew (Naomi Watts is such a good actress) and for Cinema itself. I hardly managed. The end brings nothing. I left running, quite concerned that a 2024 version of a famously erotic name had been stamped on a movie that reflects in no way the evolution of feminism, and women's pleasure, since 1974.

What an embarassment to the Emmannuelle collection of movies throughout history.

Anyone who has ever watched an Emmanuelle movie knows that it is about sensuality and eroticness above all.

This movie was filmed like it was some new advertisement for a women's perfume. Make of that what you will.

The biggest sin of all is the main casting. Unfortunately, Noémie Merlant while appears sexy and sultry at first, she just doesn't have the physical beauty to live up to the legendary Silvia Kristel.

The movie becomes more and more drab and boring as each scene comes and goes without much excitement.

Overall, for fans of T n A, this was also a colossal disappointment.

Emmanuelle (1974) is legendary. Not in any way because the Just Jaeckin classic is an amazing movie, but because it became widely known for two main things:

1) The boundary pushing eroticism of an adventurous woman seeking sexual emancipation/discovery.

2) Sylvia Kristel, a then 22 year-old, who became an icon of perfect beauty.

Although I have never been a fan of remakes, Emmanualle lends itself well to a reimaging simply because sexual attitudes change over time and the original is now over 50 years old.

Emmanuelle (2024) is actually better than I was expecting. The cinematography is especially beautiful, and the tone rather stylish. Noémie Merlant is elegant, somewhat similar looking to a young Phoebe Waller-Bridge, yet her breasts are just as equally voluptuous as that of Kristel's.

Does the movie push the boundaries of today as the '74 classic once did? No, and although it could have well done this, Emmanuelle conciously refrains from drifting into being a piece of generic sleaze by limiting the nudity/sex to where it feels appropriate. Emmanuelle's journey to sexual enlightenment could have had a clearer narrative however.

The addition of Naomi Watts was a rather delightful piece of casting, but regretfully she does not partake in any sexy shenanigans.

Overall, Emmanuelle '24 is a nice enough update. Yet it won't be a significant title 50 years from now or topple the original's reputation.

How the director who made Happening (2021), a great and tense French movie with strong directing and writing, comes next with a pretentious and tedious experience with Emmanuelle is baffling to me.

Emmanuelle is based on the French erotic series that has a famous reception from the past due to its erotic nature and style. Erotic films are challenging especially trying to combine story, character and sexual themes together without feeling tedious. It has worked but this movie, simply doesn't.

Despite some great camerawork and production designs throughout, unfortunately, it's pointless narrative and characters with barely depth or development makes it a tedious and unwilling experience. Many of the erotic moments and direction felt aimless and messy, which makes more of a bore rather then investment.

The performances from Noémie Merlant and Naomi Watts are trying. I love both of these actresses but they are stuck with a script that fails to give them really anything. I have to believe Watts must have a really bad agent because her talents have been wasted with bad movies these past years. Cause it's a shame since she deserves so much better.

With laughable dialogue and poor structure, it makes a miserable experience.