The films ofKen Russellare among the most unique in the canon of cinema. InAltered States, he took audiences on a journey into the deepest recesses of consciousness and brought us images that were hallucinatory and hellish. He brought the rock opera to mainstream audiences withTommyand, in doing so, gave The Who’s concept album about the rejection of the drug culture a commentary on the obsession with celebrity culture and the messianic cult that surrounds it. Russell’s most controversial film,The Devils, based on the bookThe Devilsof Loudunby Aldous Huxley, decimated the hubris and morality of organized religion.
Crimes of Passion, which turns 40 this year, saw Russell take the format that’s commonly associated with erotic thrillers and apply his own brand of style and aspects found in the philosophy of the Marquis de Sade, all the while providing a vehicle for one ofKathleen Turner’s most provocative performances. One of many films whose quality and depth were overlooked due to lackluster critical reception and scathing comments by some of the actors involved in the production,Crimes of Passionis a remarkable cinematic achievement from one of cinema’s most iconic visionaries.
Crimes of Passion and Crimes of Love
At first glance,Crimes of Passionseems like one of many erotic thrillers that have been made to excite the senses with its utilization of heightened sexuality. As is the case with so many films crafted by Ken Russell, there’s far more to be dissected than what’s presented to audiences through stylistic imagery. Joanna Crane (Kathleen Turner) is, for all intents and purposes, what we might consider from our modern perspective to be thetypical yuppie girl boss. A successful fashion designer whose blazers and shoulder pads are the attire of the fast-paced working world of the 1980s. However, Crane has a double life, one that provides a form of escapism through what de Sade expressed in his philosophy of libertinage. When night falls,Joanna transforms herself into sex worker China Blue, donning a blonde wig and flashy attire in her role as a “woman of the night.”
This transformation, which allows her to escape from the mundane existence of normalcy, is comparable to the character of Juliette, created by the Marquis de Sade. In her book,The Sadeian Woman and the Ideologyof Pornography, Angela Carter describes Juliette’s motives as “sexuality as terrorism.” Competing in a “man’s world,” Juliette’s calculating nature is used to subvert typical gender roles to seize power and control and her own independence. De Sade’s libertines, which exist inJuliette,The 120 Days of Sodom, and the aptly namedThe Crimes of Love, areself-serving individuals who take pleasure as they see fit. Their transgressions are born out of dissatisfaction with the mundane.
Joanna’s opposite, as it were, is found in Bobby Grady (John Laughlin.) Trapped in a loveless marriage with his wife (Annie Potts),Laughlin is hired to spy on Joanna by her employer, only to become one of her clients and, later on, her lover.The torrid sexual chemistrybetween Turner and Laughlin is another aspect of de Sade’s writing, the lustful desire that strays from any notion of normalcy. As is the case with the libertine, the virtue of marriage is stifling, whereas the vice of hedonism and lust leads to liberation and contentment.
The third member of the trifecta that will come to be the driving force inCrimes of Passionis Peter Shayne (Anthony Perkins), another fixture of de Sade’s texts,the hypocritical man of the cloth whose deviant behaviors are masqueraded. The writings of de Sade are full of individuals such as these, most notably the Bishop inThe 120 Days of Sodom.Shayne is the predatory “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who preys on the women of the night to “save” them.
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Presentation and Performance
A common and unfair critique leveled at many giallo and erotic thriller films is that they lack a plot and, for lack of a better term, emphasize style over substance.Crimes of Passion, besides being a film that embodies much of the philosophical attributes in de Sade’s writing, has one of the hallmarks closely associated with Ken Russell’s films, which is a stunning presentation that shocks the senses in a variety of ways.Russell utilizes contrast and color to separate the two worlds that exist in Joanna and China Blue.Much like the left and right sides of the human brain, logic, and emotion come to dominate these worlds, one ruled by virtue and the other by vice.
Joanna Crane and Bobby Grady, for that matter, exist in the mundane and virtuous world of toil and marriage, normalcy that’s the farthest from excitement imaginable. To further cement this complacent life that’s built out of societal expectations, the drab colors and backgrounds, often blinding white and vanilla, illustrate the discontent andmonotony born out of societal expectations. The whole landscape changes when Joanna Crane assumes the mantle of her alter ego, China Blue. With her platinum blond wig and stylish outfits, China Blue’s appearance is accentuated by the neon-lit streets that make up the red-light district in which she allies her trade. This utilization of color to show the stark contrast between two worlds is somewhat reminiscent of what Federico Fellini did inSatyricon.
The worlds in which the characters inCrimes of Passionexist aside,the performances of Kathleen Turner and Anthony Perkins are both grandiose and further proof of Ken Russell’s ability to get the most out of any actor he was in charge of directing. Kathleen Turner, in particular, joins the ranks of two other notable female roles from Russell’s body of work that far exceed audience expectations and leave a lasting impression. InTommy, Anne Margret, who spent much of her career opposite Elvis Presley, was given the chance to shine in avante-gard rock opera. Vanessa Redgrave’s portrayal as the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne inThe Devils, with its sexually charged nature, continues to shock audiences to this very day. Turner’s ability to weave between a straight-laced, savvy businesswoman and a provocative sex worker allows the audience to journey between both worlds seamlessly.
The performance given by Anthony Perkins, however, quite literally steals that show as Peter Shayne.Perkins, best known for his portrayal of Norman Bates inPsycho, recaptures the calculating and psychotic traits of one of the screen’s most recognizable antagonists. Unnerving and unsettling are adjectives that can easily be used to describe Perkins, whose obsessive and deranged behavior leaves the audience in a perpetual state of dread and wondering what he might do next.
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Passion That Defies Expectation and Thought
WithCrimes of Passion, Ken Russell delivered a thriller that featured performances that defied expectations and a film that provided a substantial amount of philosophical depth, something audiences might not have noticed at the time of release. In another case of reception and box office not being proper barometers for quality,Crimes of Passionis a provocative filmthat highlights the talents of its cast, all the while integrating a fair amount of visual style and tension to take audiences on a journey into a world that illustrates the desire to defy the rigid roles of societal expectations.
Besides being wildly entertained by one of Ken Russell’s most provocative films,Crimes of Passionis a reminder that artistic endeavors with ambition should always be celebrated for going against trends and normalcy.Even in a genre that’s too often dismissed for lacking depth, there’s always a deeper meaning to comprehend, which is why thought-provoking cinema must always endure.
