Place Vendome review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Oozing style and substance in every scene, the ageless, elegant Catherine Deneuve shines in this cerebral French thriller.

She plays Marianne, a Parisian widow who inherits her diamond-jeweller husband's business while his former partners are trying to take over. But Marianne has been suffering from alcoholism since the end of an age-old love affair with another jeweller, so the business isn't exactly in safe hands. And when she discovers seven diamonds hidden by her husband, she suddenly finds herself thrown into a deadly situation...

Sharp dialogue, noirish cinematography and peerless ensemble acting abound in this chilling study of greed, passion and vengeance. The sustained drama builds through a sequence of unexpected plot twists, leading to a supercharged and far from expected denouement. Burnt-out Hollywood execs take note: this dazzling, intelligent and Byzantine thriller is grade-A source material for yet another (predictably inferior) US remake. Deneuve won Best Actress at the '98 Venice Film Festival for the role. That many Italians can't be wrong.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.