Truly Dreadful Film

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Yes, I am aware of the fact the rather vulgar and tasteless subject line entirely misfits the overall tone of this film, but when else am I going to have the chance to use this clichéd saying in a review? "Stepfather" is a provocative and mildly controversial "Lolita"-themed drama, but with a healthy sense of humor and extremely likable characters. Britney Spears provided the best one-line plot description imaginable for this film: Not a Girl, Not yet a Woman. After the sudden and accidental death of her mother, beautiful 14-year-old Marion insists on staying with her manic depressed stepfather instead of returning to her natural father. The girl soon openly confesses Rémi she has romantic feelings for him and doesn't really make it a secret that she wants to sleep with him. Rémi tries very hard (honestly, he does) to resist the temptation, but what's a lonely man to do when a scantily clad young gal keeps throwing herself at him and continues to sneak into his bed at night? Most of the – admittedly overlong - film focuses on Rémi fighting, accepting and regretting his own feelings towards Marion, but still the film never really feels boring and there are plenty of neat details to keep you pleased. The narrative, for example, is ingenious as several characters (including Rémi) explain the story whilst facing the camera. He works as unsuccessful pianist in a restaurant and the camera often pans around him as he's narrating his own life with people dining in the background. It's also quite remarkable how the script never reverts to being gratuitous exploitation, even though all the themes hint towards that direction. A truly ravishing and often barely dressed minor literally offers herself at this potent, thirty-something guy, and yet there are no explicit sex sequences or gratuitous insinuations being made. Ariel Besse (16 at the time and a terrific actress) strips fully naked a couple of times, but all the sex & nudity sequences are elegantly presented and not the least bit offensive. Patrick Dewaere is great as well and it was quite a shock to discover he committed suicide shortly after the release of this film. According to several sources, including the IMDb, the actors struggled with depressions and mental torture for years and years. The only consolation he had was that his own mental condition gave an even deeper dimension to his character in "Stepfather". Recommended.

I was 14 years old and traveling to Florida and we spent the night in a hotel. I was up late watching HBO when this movie came on. As I sat and watched it I was mesmerized by Patrick Deweare! The movie and his performance touched something very deep in me, I became an instant fan of his and the memory of that movie stayed with me for years. I purchased the movie as an adult. I think it was the deep sadness that emanated from him, just the sad looks he would convey without actually speaking. I love this movie as much today as I did at 14, which at that time I did not know that he had just died. With the advent of the Internet I was able to find out much more about this man who's performance haunted me and learned where that sadness came from.

A gorgeously photographed and steamy tale of forbidden passion.Boasting a superb lead performance by Patrick DeWaere as a young Frenchman battling to stifle the seductive advances of his breathtakingly beautiful step-daughter, it is grounded by fascinating character detail and an intelligent, focused script that is deeply interested in the complexities of love and desire.Ariel Besse is the step-daughter and she is a bubbling, nubile cauldron of curiosity and mischief.Sacha Vierny's moody photography is worthy of a coffee table hardcover and Philip Sarde's score is perfection.A delicious, provocative, mature tale of sexual politics.

Please! Give me a break. The cast is dead, stiff and waxy looking. A weak premise that she is so demanding, that no one could deny her, is preposterious. This film is not erotic. It had to be made by 10-year-olds. What a waste of time, not to mention celloid.