Venus in Fur    ** 1/2

    I'm pro sexuality in art, especially where it undermines perceived identity, so what the H, I had a good shot at enjoying Polanski's romp through domination and submission.  And Venus in Fur was a jolly good time for me.  Polanski's wife, Emanuelle Seigner, plays sharply off Polanski's brooding alter ego, Matheiu Almaric, who Americans will remember as Bond's Eurotrash nemesis in Quantum of Solace.  Since this is a filmed play with one primary location, a theater stage,  the acting has to click.  So does the writing, which is playful, full of amusing double entendre, but backed by enough power shifts in the relationship to give the piece traction.  Venus in Fur whirs along, questioning the balance of power between man and woman, actor and director,  lover and object, writer and critic.  Lighting, a few props and costumes, direction and judicious camera placement make Venus feel like a spacious film.

     Quibble number one,  a fairly minor one, is with the plot.  Without spoiling the ending,  I had a fairly clear idea of what was coming.   The other quibble is more subjective and I'm not sure it's even fair.  More entertainment than involving drama,  Venus in Fur could have possibly been a bit deeper, had more at stake for its characters.   It could even have been a bit more erotically charged - this is fairly tame stuff - although Polanski was directing his wife.   Then again, that might have made it more Taming of the Shrew and less All's Well That Ends Well.  I've ragged on Polanski over the last few decades for his mediocre output (Frantic, The Ghost, Death and the Maiden, The Ninth Gate), but I suspected the maker of Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion and Chinatown had better work in mind.