Review: Is Emmanuelle a Missed Opportunity in Modern Cinema?

Movie Review: Emmanuelle
Cast: Noémie Merlant, Naomi Watts, Will Sharpe
Director: Audrey Diwan
Star Rating: ★★

After the success of her powerful film Happening, expectations were high for Audrey Diwan’s new movie, Emmanuelle. Unfortunately, this update of a classic erotic novel feels empty and lacks excitement.

The story follows Noémie Merlant as a hotel inspector who is curious about what happens behind the scenes at a fancy hotel. She wants to learn more about the hotel manager, Margot (Naomi Watts), and a mysterious guest named Kei (Will Sharpe), who acts strangely and talks in confusing ways.

While the film aims to explore female sexuality, it plays it too safe. Emmanuelle has no backstory, and we don’t really understand what she wants. Merlant looks stunning, but her character feels flat and confused. Naomi Watts doesn’t get to shine in her limited role, and Will Sharpe’s character is poorly written.

The screenplay by Diwan and Rebecca Zlotowski lacks depth and focuses more on the hotel’s luxury than on Emmanuelle’s development. The lines are often confusing and don’t reflect the high-class setting well.

Emmanuelle struggles with its identity. It tries to be modern but misses the mark on what autonomy and desire really mean for a woman. The film is filled with lavish hotel scenes and beautiful food but lacks emotional weight and excitement in its sex scenes.

Overall, Emmanuelle feels aimless and doesn’t engage the audience. It’s stylish but lacks substance to keep viewers invested.

Emmanuelle is available to stream on Thellv.news