VENUS IN FUR
"VENUS IN FUR" AUDITIONS HERE
No, she doesn't exist.
I mean, a sexy young woman,
with classical training
and a scrap of brain in her skull
who can say "inextricable" without a coach.
Listen...
Honey, in Vanda's day, at her age,
she'd be married with five kids and tuberculosis.
She'd be a woman.
These days, they sound like ten-year-olds on helium:
"it was, like, totally, like, wild.
Like, totally awesome."
I've seen 35 idiot actresses-
half dressed like hookers, half like dykes.
I'd make a better Vanda.
Just put me in a dress and a pair of heels.
Hello? Hello, honey?
Damn it.
Hello? Hello?
Knock-knock!
Am I too late?
Shit. I'm too late.
Fuck.
For Venus in Fur, everyone's left.
I'm so sorry. I was way across town.
My phone died.
I broke a heel in a sewer cover.
See what I mean?
Then this guy on the train
rubs up against my ass.
Then it starts to pour.
Fuck. Just my luck.
Shit, shit, fuck.
Maybe I can rustle up some Valium.
Nah, just my usual luck.
Thank you, God, for all the help.
By the way, I'm Vanda Jourdain.
Vanda?
See what I mean? I've even got her name.
You know many Vandas?
I'm made for the part: the train breaks down,
some guy tries to fuck me.
- And you are? - Thomas Novachek.
Hi. Hey, wait a minute!
You wrote this.
Yes, I did. Well, I adapted it.
And you're directing?
Within an inch of its life.
I love your plays-
the ones I know.
Anatomy of Shadows- amazing.
I saw it twice.
That's not mine.
Oh.
My bad.
I mean the other one.
This is awkward.
Anyway, this one's awesome- the parts I read.
Pretty wild stuff. Really sexy.
Or, like, erotic if humiliation is your thing.
I'm not usually in leather and a dog collar.
I'm really demure and shit.
Just thought I'd get into the part.
It's S&M'?
The play?
Not exactly, and it's set in 1870.
Oh, right.
I guess this isn't too 1870.
Not really.
Maybe back then
S&M-ers dressed like this.
Mm. My headshot and résumé.
Great, thanks.
Where is that...
Thanks.
It's kind of skimpy.
But I'm good. I'm made for this part.
They said I was amazing as Hedda Gabler.
The Urinal Theatre?
I somehow missed their season.
You had an appointment?
Yeah, 2:15.
Hours ago, right?
Vanda...
Jourdain. Vanda.
People always ask, "ls it a stage name?"
Uh...
I don't see your name.
Really?
My agent said it was set up.
I'm not on it? 2:15?
Shit.
Thanks again, God.
But now I'm here...
Wait! What are you doing?
Oh!
I got a costume!
No.
I found this great dress-
Really, don't bother.
What? You mean don't read?
I mean don't read.
I'm here, so let's give it a go.
There's no one to read with you.
You can read with me.
It'd be an honor to read with the author.
Adapter.
It'd be cool, straight from the horse's mouth.
Stop! Stop
To tell you the truth, Miss...
Vanda.
We're looking for somebody... different.
What are you looking for?
Someone... how can I put it?
I get it.
Save your breath. Someone who's not me.
I'm too short, too tall, too old, too young.
My résumé is crap.
Okay, I get the message.
Wait...
This sucks.
It's okay. It's okay.
This really sucks.
What a shitty day.
We'll schedule more auditions soon.
But I'm here now. Save me another trip.
Look, Vanda.
I've had a bad day too.
I saw a bunch of freaks. One with braces.
You don't want to audition now.
I need to relax.
My dinner's waiting.
I understand. Dinner.
It'll be better when I'm fresh.
Thanks for coming.
Love the outfit. Very striking.
I'll see you soon.
I doubt it, but thanks anyhow.
You seem nice.
It's just this goddamn business.
Plus 30 euros for the fucking dress.
It's real 18-whatever, huh?
Very 18-whatever.
It's her, right? Total Vanda.
She'd have a long dress.
They hated their butts back then.
That's a misconception.
Let me show you how I look in it.
Pretty please.
- Yes! - Thank you.
No! No!
Not you. Someone just walked in.
Yes.
No, no, no, no.
I'll pick up some sushi on my way, huh?
Bye.
Can you do me up, please?
Wow, reading with Thomas Novachek.
You're not doing yourself any favors.
I'm not an actor.
You're perfect, the ideal Kowalski.
No. Kushemski.
You're Kushemski.
Not exactly.
At your service, sir.
Where do we start? You choose.
Let's try the first scene.
Okay.
You have your sides?
Yes.
They got messed up.
Who gave you the whole script?
I don't know.
My agent sent it.
How did he get hold of it?
What's the problem?
It's top secret or something?
Doesn't matter.
Have you read it?
I flipped through it on the train.
It's, like, based on something.
The Lou Reed song?
It's based on an Austrian novel, Venus in Fur,
by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.
I bet
you read it in actual Austrian!
Well, more or less.
The book was a huge scandal in 1870.
I bet it was. It's S&M porn.
It's not S&M porn.
It's not porn?
Or porn-ish?
For medieval times, like, 18-whatever?
Venus in Fur is a great love story.
It's a central text of world literature.
Yeah?
Looks like porn to me.
I know my sadomasochism.
I'm in the theatre.
Masochism comes from Sacher-Masoch
because of this book.
Ah!
Masochism, Masoch. I should have seen that.
So S&M is named after the guy'?
Cool.
That wasn't his goal.
Sure, he called it serious; people called it porn.
And you milked the book?
I adapted the book;
made up the lines, the scenes.
There's a lot of me in it.
Fantastic.
So where are we, like?
"Like" at an inn,
somewhere on the edge of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire...
Remind me.
It's complicated.
So it's a fancy inn, huh?
Yes, a health spa for the wealthy.
Very luxurious.
At curtain-up, Kushemski is reading in his room
with his morning coffee,
and, knock-knock-knock, Vanda enters.
And that's "symbolic" for his character?
He's reading.
People still read books.
Books made of actual paper.
Ouch, you got me.
So this guy-what's his name?
Sevran, Savrine...
Severin von Kushemski.
Right.
What is he? What's he into?
Throw me some adjectives.
Uh...
A rich idler of his times.
Intelligent, well-traveled, cultivated.
A nerd.
If you will.
"If you will." I love it.
When did I last hear that'?
Distinguished, like you.
Want to know about her?
I know her inside out, but...
Sure, if you want.
I'd say,
she's a young woman of her time,
despite her professed principles.
Despite what?
Her professed principles.
At first sight, she's very proper, poised, and cultivated.
No kidding. Nothing else?
Anything I don't know?
Like...
That's cool. I'll manage.
Mind if I change the lights?
The lights?
Kind of glary, right?
Oh, please, make yourself at home.
How's that?
Not bad.
Hold on...
I wouldn't know which button to push.
Ah, voilà.
Much, much better.
I guess this is the divan.
Yes, that's the divan.
A desk.
The book she brings back.
The postcard. Great.
And what's this?
A phallic symbol?
It's from the last show here.
A Belgian production.
Stagecoach as a musical.
Where do I stand?
Wherever's comfortable.
Not so center.
Stage left or stage right?
Left.
Do you want to read the scene over?
No, let's wing it.
How far?
To the end of page 3.
And then you kick me out?
Let's try that.
In other words, yes.
I nearly forgot...
These words on page 0...
This quote, like...
The epigraph?
Yeah.
"And the Lord hath smitten him
and delivered him into a woman's hands."
It's quoted in the novel,
from the Book of Judith.
That's the Bible?
The Apocrypha, yes.
I'm pretty dumb.
It's pretty sexist, huh?
"And the Lord hath smitten him
and delivered him into a woman's hands."
I'm only quoting Sacher-Masoch's novel.
Yeah, but you put it on page 0.
Never mind. None of my business.
I'm just an actress.
I forgot the fur.
She wears a stole?
That's right.
Fur... Fur...
Soft fur...
Okay, that's good.
Maybe it's not...
Are the socks of the archduchess dry?
They are extra dry.
Are the socks of the archduchess dry?
They are extra dry.
Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka!
Dirt station.
Ready when you are.
Uncle, did your tea get rid of your cough'?
Rat saw a roast, roast tempted rat, rat put leg to roast,
roast burnt rat's leg, rat shook leg...
Knock-knock.
Come in.
Herr Doktor Severin von Kushemski?
I'm sorry to disturb you.
I'm Vanda von Dunayev.
I'm staying in the room above yours.
I found this book fast night.
A copy of Faust,
with your bookplate inside.
It was in the birch grove by the statue of Venus.
Thank you so much.
I had just asked the maid about it.
I would have sent it, but I found
this provocative postcard inside.
A Titian, isn't it?
Yes.
Venus With Mirror. A favorite of mine.
Your Venus seems as well-thumbed
as your book.
Is she faithful?
I'm sorry?
To the original.
Yes, it's a faithful copy of the painting.
I understand your fascination.
The picture's ravishing.
Thank you for returning it.
I couldn't help noticing the odd poem on the back.
“To Venus in Fur.“
Did you write this?
It's just a bit of doggerel.
Doggerel, really?
“To love and be loved.
“Ah, what bliss.
“Yet there exists a greater joy.
“The torment of that woman's kiss.
“Who makes of me her slave.
"Her cur, her toy,
"I speak of her.
“My goddess, my dictator,
my Venus in fur.“
Interesting sentiments.
If I were you,
I'd guard this bookmark well.
I appreciate your discretion.
Would you like to sit down, Frau Dunayev?
Thank you.
May I take your fur'?
That's very kind.
It's Tartar, isn't it?
Caucasian sable, probably from Kazakhstan.
Caucasian sable from Kazakhstan, precisely.
"Kushemski stares at the fur in his hands."
You're trembling, Herr Kushemski.
Yes, please forgive me.
May I ring for something'?
A coffee would be lovely.
Have some of mine.
How kind of you.
Two sugars, please.
"He pours her coffee"...
I hope I don't disturb you,
trotting in my heels up there.
Not at all.
Trod in your heels to your heart's content.
So you're a poet, Herr Kushemski.
Just an amateur.
And a trained lover of fur.
The love of fur is...
I'll skip that line.
No, read it!
The love of fur is innate.
It's a passion that Nature gives us all--
Come on. Get into it.
The love of fur is innate.
It's a passion that Nature gives us all.
To caress a thick, soft fur.
That peculiar tingle, that electricity.
I suspect there's more here than a gift of Nature.
Perhaps your mother swaddled you in sable as a baby?
I'm sorry. I'm prying.
Please forgive me.
Actually...
I had an aunt who was passionate about fur.
That explains everything.
We're all easily explicable,
yet remain inextricable.
Inextricable?
What do you mean?
Life makes us what we are.
End of page 3!
So it is. So it is.
That was good, Vanda.
I was just stumbling around.
You didn't seem to be.
That's good actin' for ya!
I tell you, I'm a pro.
It was very good.
I'm blushing.
It wasn't perfect.
No. Sure.
Let's read on a little.
Then Kushemski has his big speech,
and we can skip to...
No, read it! It'll feed my character.
- You're good, Thomas. - I'm faking it.
No, you're really good.
Who's your Kushemski?
I have a few possibilities.
You should play him.
I mean it; you'd be terrific.
It's hard.
And I put actors through this.
You're the director.
It's your job to torture actors.
First-time director.
You'd never know.
Directors never understand my work.
Never get it right.
That's why you're perfect.
You can make it right.
I have it all in my head.
I'll use Alban Berg's Lyric Suite for transitions.
Great idea!
You know it?
No! But you see?
You know it inside out, characters and all.
For Kushemski, off the top of my head,
try something...
An accent or something.
He's upper-class.
Upper-class, exactly.
With a hint of...
something aristocratic.
Is this upper-class enough?
Or is it idiotic?
It is, but it's great.
You didn't bring a smoking jacket, did you?
I did.
I was kidding.
Want to try it on?
It'll help you. I bet it fits.
It's beautiful.
Is it real?
They said it's vintage.
"Siegfried Mueller,
"Vienna,
1869."
What? I didn't notice.
40 euros. Not bad, huh?
Huh.
Looks like it was made for you.
How's it feel?
It feels good.
A perfect fit.
Sure looks good on you.
Hello, gorgeous!
How much was the dog collar?
It's from when I was a hooker.
Just kidding.
Let me give you a run-up.
Perhaps your mother swaddled you in sable as a baby?
I'm prying. Please forgive me.
Actually, one of my aunts had a passion for fur...
This is hard for him.
Obviously.
So go for it!
I'm prying. Please forgive me.
Actually,
one of my aunts had a passion for fur.
Thai explains everything.
We're all easily explicable yet. ..
We remain inextricable.
Inextricable?
What do you mean?
Life makes us whet we are
in an unforeseen instant.
How's the coffee?
I've hardly tasted it, but it's excellent so far.
That's symbolic, right? He's the coffee.
One sip, and she's already hooked.
Damn, you saw right through me.
Have you had an “unforeseen instant,“
Herr Kushemski?
Actually, I have.
But I don't Wish to bore you.
Far from it. I'm enthralled.
It's like an English mystery novel.
I await the mysterious aunt who was fond of fur.
We can skip the next speech.
No, read it! I want to hear.
I await the mysterious aunt who was fond of fur.
I was an impossible child.
Spoiled and cruel.
Tormenting the servants
and our cat.
I was also very rude to an aunt of mine.
The countess was a regal woman.
Voluptuous and... terrifying.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
Feels strange, hearing out loud words I wrote
on a screen at 2:00 A.M.
But you're doing fine.
What did your aunt do'?
One night, she took her revenge.
She came into my room
Wearing a long cape of Russian black fox fur.
In her hand, she carried a birch cane
freshly cut.
She was followed by the cook and the maid.
She threw off her fur and rolled up her sleeves.
I tried to escape,
but the other two women grabbed me,
pulled down my pants, and flung me onto the fur.
They held me down while my aunt laid into me
with the cane.
My naked backside and thighs were on fire.
The servant women urged her on and mocked me,
calling me a little girl.
I struggled,
but my aunt kept whipping me
until I begged her to stop
out of mercy.
When she finally stopped,
she forced me to thank her on my knees.
She made me kiss her foot.
Then she left the room,
threatening to return.
All this witnessed by the two servants
and our cat.
From that time on for me,
a fur was never just a fur,
nor a birch cane a simple switch.
In that brief moment, she made me
the men I am now.
Did she return?
In my dreams, yes,
with her black fur and her cane.
She still visits me each night.
You poor, poor man.
Poor?
She taught me the most precious thing.
She taught you what'?
That nothing is more sensuous than pain.
Nothing more pleasurable than degradation.
The countess did her work well.
She became my ideal.
I've sought her replica ever since,
and when I meet that woman,
I shall marry her.
Thomas, that speech is awesome!
Thank you. It took a lot of work.
So actually,
this play is, like, all about child abuse.
Are you crazy?
What does child abuse have to do with it?
This goddamn mania these days!
Everything's a stupid social issue!
Child abuse isn't exactly stupid...
I know, but don't be so trite!
This isn't anthropology or sociology;
it's a play.
Yeah, but...
There's a lot more here
than corporal punishment.
Okay, sorry.
This impoverished world we live in.
Why do we always diminish things?
What's next on your list?
Sexism? Racism? The class struggle?
You are quite unique, Herr Kushemski.
If I were you, I'd be careful.
Your ideal woman may be crueler than you care for.
I'm willing to risk that.
I know what you are. A super-sensualist.
An ascetic voluptuary.
And you, Frau Vanda von Dunayev,
who or what are you'?
I'm a pagan.
Meaning I'm young, beautiful, rich,
and plan to make the most of that.
I'll deny myself nothing.
I respect your principles.
Excuse me, I don't need your respect.
I'll love a man who pleases me
and please a man who makes me happy,
but only as long as he makes me happy.
Then I'll find another.
Nothing is crueler than a Woman's infidelity.
For a women there is.
Enforced fidelity.
Can I move?
Sure, move around.
In our society,
a Woman's only power
is through a man.
I'd like to see what Woman will be
when she becomes Man's equal.
When she becomes herself.
Little Vanda's way ahead of her times.
Vanda...
How do you know the lines?
I don't know. I learn fast.
You know the play by heart.
You said Vanda is very proper...
despite what?
Her professed principles.
Right.
She doesn't believe all this?
She says so.
Women's rights, blah-blah-blah...
So it's all an act?
Why "professed principles" and not just "principles"?
I liked the alliteration, "professed principles."
I see.
You sold your soul
for alliteration.
Guilty as charged.
Between you and me, Thomas, you're a bad boy.
If! may be so bold,
I'd say you're more than a pagan,"
you're a goddess.
Really'? Which one'?
Venus.
Vanda is Venus, or am I crazy?
She's Venus in human form,
come down to bust his balls.
Not really,
or not exactly.
Okay, I take it back. You wanted it ambivalent.
- Ambiguous. - Right.
It's the same story as The Bacchae.
Exactly.
What's The Bacchae again?
Just kidding. An old play, right?
A very old play, yes.
“Citizens of Corinth!
“Behold this mortal man, Testiculus,
“cursed for his offenses by the gods
and totally fucked for all eternity!"
That kind of play?
More or less.
Dionysus comes down
and reduces the proud King of Thebes
to a quaking jelly in a dress.
Sounds hot.
After that,
the crazed women of Thebes, the Bacchae,
tear him to pieces.
Dionysus leaves triumphant.
Yeah, I think I saw it.
Here it's not Dionysus; it's Aphrodite.
And she is...
The Greek Venus.
- Same person? - Same goddess.
Hail, Aphrodite!
Hail, Aphrodite.
Am I insufferably pedantic?
Yeah, but it's kind of cute.
What are we doing?
You are a goddess.
Really?
Which one'?
Venus.
But Venus could only rule over sieves.
So I should find myself one.
Would you be my slave, Herr Doktor Kushemski?
I already am.
I've been your slave since you entered this room.
What?
Already in love with me'?
Profoundly.
I'm suffering as if I'd known you all my life.
Subjugate me.
Stand up and step away from me.
I must say you do intrigue me.
I like your frankness, your clarity of thought.
Physically, you are not unattractive.
But when a man submits to me, I sense a trick.
This is no trick. Love me.
You see? Orders already.
Marry me.
I'm a frivolous woman, Herr Kushemski.
You'd have to be very brave to love me.
explained my principles.
I don't care. I want you for my Wife.
You don't know me.
- Dominate me! - We absurd.
I give you all power over me, eternally.
Unconditionally. Do with me what you will.
Dominate me. Beat me if you like.
This is certainly novel.
Stand over there.
- What? - Stand in the center.
I'm fine here.
You should be there; you're taking power.
So take a power position.
Try it again.
This is certainly novel.
It doesn't work.
Try it again.
I give you all power over me, eternally.
Unconditionally. Do with me what you will.
Dominate me.
Beat me if you like.
This is certainly novel.
You're not trying.
You wanted me here. Here I am. I said my line.
It's only an audition.
I want to see if you can take direction.
So do as I say, and stand there.
I give you all power over me, eternally.
Unconditionally. Do with me what you will.
Dominate me.
Beat me if you like.
This is certainly novel.
It is better!
Keep going.
What do you want deep down'?
To be your possession.
Vanish in to your sublime essence.
Dress and undress you.
Hand you stockings, put shoes on your feet.
Have no will of my own.
You call that love?
The only kind.
In love as in politics,
one partner must rule.
One must be the hammer, the other the anvil.
I willingly accept being the anvil.
Enough.
No, keep going. I love it!
Thomas, the insight, especially about women.
You really understand women.
Yes, years of study.
- Where was I? - Being an anvil.
Yes.
Vanda.
I seek pain and you pleasure.
You mustn't defer to anyone's feelings.
Use your lover as he'd use you.
Rule him, wring him dry.
You're incredible.
If I can't be your husband, take me as your slave.
Treat me with divine cruelty.
Mistreat a man who loves me?
I'll worship you even more.
I don't went that.
All Women Want worshipping, like our Creator.
Create me.
Ruin me.
Annihilate me.
Excuse me.
Yes? Yes.
No, I'm still here.
No, everything's good.
Everything's good. Yes.
I don't know.
In a few minutes, I guess.
I'll call when I leave. Yes.
Me too, honey. Take care.
Yeah, fine.
Sorry.
The audition? We'll see.
I'm at the temp agency. They've got something.
Typing. A night job in a law firm.
They need the contract tomorrow, blah-blah-blah.
I don't know!
We'll see. That's life.
That's life, okay. Bye.
Incredible.
Your other half?
People still say that?
What's "other half" now?
I don't know. "Asshole"?
Okay.
You wonder why I lied.
It's none of my business.
What does Vanda say?
I'll deny myself nothing.
I got other fish to fuck, so to speak.
So you're the hammer; he's the anvil.
What should I say?
"Whatever, baby"?
This isn't love; it's sex.
You want sex, you take the rest.
That's what the play's about.
Is it'?
Are you kidding?
I don't know. Am I?
Will you stop?
Say what you think for once.
Quit pussyfooting around.
Shall I make some coffee?
What?
Are you coming on to me, Tom?
Certainly not.
I'm just offering you coffee.
Symbolic coffee?
Not at all. Real coffee.
Would your wife like you offering me "real" coffee?
I'm not married.
I thought from the call...
My fiancée.
Same thing. What would your fiancée think?
Didn't you once say,
"Theatre's a great way to get laid"?
You actually read that?
I was young. It was my first interview.
Never been married?
Never.
Still living with Mom?
I'm twisted but not that twisted.
So fox fur's your thing?
No, love is.
You really are twisted.
And my woman must be my muse.
So Fiancée has wings and everything?
The way I see love,
you take the plunge...
Jump right in.
Headfirst.
With fireworks, lightning, and thunder.
Coffee or no coffee?
I could only give myself
to one man for life if he enslaved me.
We're not a very good match, Herr Kushemski.
We cancel each other out.
I say we're made for each other.
Don't you feel that, Vanda?
Don't you feel it too?
I propose a trial period.
A contract. Call it a business deal.
You have one year to prove you're the man for me.
- A year is long... - Let me finish.
I beg your pardon.
I'll draw up a contract
saying you're my slave for a year.
Wow! So she had this all planned.
She set it up before she came in.
You think so?
Come on, you wrote it.
I'm not sure she had this planned.
I'm not being coy.
So you wanted it ambivalent.
- Ambiguous. - Right.
Maybe she’s just a horny bitch.
I never considered that angle.
Maybe it's even more twisted.
Be my slave for a year, then you can fuck me.
Ambivalent again?
- Ambiguous. - Ambiguous.
For me- well, for Kushemski,
you're his last chance, his only chance.
Really? To do what?
To live.
He wants to know if she's into whips.
He's auditioning her.
She's auditioning him too.
He's a perv,
and she's an object, like every woman in 18-whatever.
Who are you really, Frau Vanda Jourdain?
I'm a pagan.
No, I'm serious.
You're coming on to me again.
Where are you from? What's your story?
I'm an Army brat. I grew up everywhere.
Where? What cities? What countries?
I'll draw up a contract
saying you're my slave for a year.
Your wish is my command.
Give me your hand.
"They shake hands"...
There's a Greek officer at the inn.
- Hmm, a Greek? - Yes.
He's from Athens.
He rides a snow-White stallion
and wears black leather boots.
I want you to get his room number.
- But, Vanda... - What?
Resisting already?
Forgive me.
Wait for me tomorrow
in the birch grove by Aphrodite's statue.
At whet time?
Wait until I decide to arrive.
Very well.
And don't come without the Greek's room number.
Now kiss my foot.
"He kneels and kisses her foot."
I love that bit.
Bang! "Kiss my foot."
Now put my fur on me.
Severin. ..
Where will all this end?
That depends on you, Frau Vanda von Dunayev.
Not on me.
Thank you for the coffee, slave.
Yeah, I'd like some now.
Coffee, I mean.
Pretty intense.
The handshake was, like, electric.
The joys of a repressed age.
Conversation itself was erotic.
Conversation was all they got.
That's not how the book starts.
The book?
Where's the first scene?
Venus naked in a fur by the fire.
You know the book?
You've read Venus in Fur?
I took a look.
When you said, "What's it based on?"
you were lying.
Okay, to get ahead!
Why didn't you keep that scene?
How could I fit it in?
At the start, before he meets Vanda.
You can't do Venus in Fur without Venus.
Same actress playing both.
Naked onstage? For you, no extra charge.
I'll think about it.
Let's improvise. Maybe you'll get some ideas.
The lights.
Where are we? Top of the play?
Kushemski's room.
At night.
Okay, middle of the night, 2:00 A.M.
Let's tone this down.
A fire going, stage left.
Voilà.
Yes.
Very nice.
Let's see... Kushemski is doing what?
I don't know. Reading.
Yeah, right.
No? Too cliché?
He's already reading when he meets Vanda.
We're not the city library.
He can be writing his diary.
I like it.
Okay, I'm Venus.
What the hell...
- Imagine me naked. - Are you coming on to me?
You're a big boy.
Pretend I'm Fiancée and improvise.
I've never done it before.
All the girls say that.
But it's true.
The fire flickers.
We see Venus naked,
draped sensually in a fur.
So drape me in my fur.
You're the director.
Sensually, I said.
Now sit at your desk.
In character.
Write in your diary.
- Write for real. - I am.
Out loud! How else do we know who you are?
It's the start of the play.
The lights are coming up.
All we hear is the sound of an old clock.
Tick... Took...
Tick-took!
'October 22, 1870.
"2-00 AM.
"I am staying at health spa
“ringed by forests and mountains.
“There's no moon tonight.
Darkness and silence reign.“
“No, wait, I hear...
A sparrow.“
A nightingale.
“A nightingale.“
“The howl of a cat in heat.“
"I feel
So terribly alone. "
“Unhappy-
Unfulfilled.“
Good evening, sir.
What...
Have the Germans invaded again'?
I hope I do not disturb.
Not at all.
Hail, Aphrodite.
So, you have not forgotten me'?
Forgotten you'?
My dearest
and oldest enemy?
You are so sweet.
Won? you kiss my hand'?
That's better, but, Thomas-
Did I say Thomas? Oops.
Ja, but, Severin,
it's so cold in here.
Every time I visit you, I am catching cold.
You see?
Already I have phlegm in the tubes.
But you always strut around naked.
Ja, but I am Venus.
I must be all the time naked.
It comes with the job.
Won't you take off
those scratchy clothes
and come cuddle with me?
There's room here, under my fur.
No, thank you.
I brought this mink especially for you.
From Olympus. It's heavenly.
See the label? "Made In Olympus."
Why would I
be interested in your fur?
Ah, Severin.
I know your little quirk.
Women don't interest you.
Their fur does.
You should marry a raccoon.
Better a raccoon than most women we met.
But if I open my thighs under my mink,
you wouldn't want some love?
Is it love you're offering?
No, it's power.
You dare to resist me?
I dare.
Severin, I'll make you crawl at my feet.
I'll make you beg.
Never.
You're mine already.
And you'll be mine for all time.
Never!
Good-bye, my friend.
I'll be back.
Then, poof, she vanishes!
WOW!
Not bad, huh?
You could write it up and stick it in.
So to speak.
In theory, anyhow.
I thought
I'd add a little Marlene Dietrich.
Yes, great. Works beautifully.
It shows another side of Kushemski.
Yeah, with Venus at night, he says,
"No, you bitch."
Next morning with Vanda,
"Take me, please!"
We could bring the lights down, then back up.
It's morning, knock-knock-knock,
and Venus reappears disguised as Vanda.
- To get revenge. - Brilliant.
So is it you?
What?
He's you.
Kushemski-Novachek. Novachek-Kushemski.
No, he's not me.
You said there's a lot of you in it.
Maybe you're Vanda.
The play has nothing to do with me.
You're just the writer.
Oops. "Adapter."
Like, "if a critic says it's me, I'll kill him."
I can invent characters.
Sure, Herr Doktor Novachek,
and you happened to find them
in an old S&M novel.
It's a famous book.
You didn't have an "unforeseen instant"
at age 12?
- No. - In the library?
No.
With a cat?
No.
You're still waiting for your...
"great moment"?
I'm not waiting for anything.
I find the characters' relationship
absolutely fascinating.
Very complex, very rich.
Of course.
I love the characters' emotional depth.
No one experiences this kind of thing nowadays.
We no longer see this kind of rage.
Meet some of my friends.
Okay.
Okay, fine.
I don't understand a thing.
When you get home,
Fiancée doesn't tie you up and whip you?
No.
Ask her.
See if Fiancée is up for it.
Stop calling her "Fiancée."
Sorry.
What does your "other half" think of the play?
She's not keen.
People might think it's you or her.
It isn't me or her.
But let me guess about your...
Marie-Cécile.
I bet she's younger than you.
Good family.
Probably grew up in a pretty home on the coast.
Near La Baule.
- Nantes, actually. - Ah.
But I bet her family spent weekends at La Baule.
In a villa with a garden.
She sails.
She loves seafood.
Correct.
She's tall.
A little bossy, in a nice way.
Lots of hair.
Long legs and a nice pair of...
eyes.
A fine mind.
Prep school in Paris.
Excellent grades, a degree.
A Master's?
Am I close?
She has a Master's.
She has a PhD.
She's doing a thesis in sociology.
She has a dog. Let's see...
Maybe a Labrador.
Named...
He has an intellectual's name.
Bourdieu?
Derrida.
You're very cultivated.
I bet she's loaded.
A crappy theatre, a Belgian cactus...
It's not the Comédie Française.
Her family's rich.
Am I right?
Of course I'm right.
But, hey, you're an artist.
She loves that about you; loves your sensitivity.
Maybe you're the first really sensitive guy she ever met.
She loves books, opera, ballet, that shit.
At night, a foreign movie, you discuss novels,
before a nice quiet copulation.
Nothing like some quiet copulation to help you relax.
But a voice rumbles in the back of your mind,
calling for something else.
I don't know what, but it rumbles.
Boom.
But, hey, you're happy.
You're very, very fond of her.
You'll have a nice quiet life
watching foreign movies, discussing novels.
And then you'll have kids,
and then you'll die.
Shall we read on?
Yes, let's read on.
The next day in the birch grove?
All right.
Here's our statue of Venus.
Hail, Aphrodite!
Hail, Aphrodite...
Do you want to read the scene over?
No, Severin.
No, no, no.
It's not right.
All this talk of slavery and domination.
You've corrupted me with your words.
I think, deep down, you'd enjoy controlling a man.
- No. - Or even torturing him.
No.
Admit it.
That's not me.
Can't I reason with you?
Reason be damned.
Severin.
Don't you see'?
You'll never be safe in the hands of a woman.
Of any Woman.
That line is so sexist.
I could scream!
What's sexist about it?
"You'll never be safe in the hands of a woman."
It's in the book.
So the book is sexist!
No, it's not!
On the contrary, it's...
A central text of world literature?
I didn't mean that.
And this?
That ain't Titian, babe.
It's S&M porn.
The whole thing's one big cliché.
In what way?
He gets spanked and suddenly he's into S&M?
It happened to Sacher-Masoch!
- Did it happen to you? - No!
So what do you know?
For me, it's a play about two people united forever.
They're handcuffed at the heart.
By perversion.
No, by passion.
His passion!
This is a chemical reaction.
It's a sex and class war.
Vanda is a sweet innocent
who meets a total pervert.
You don't understand a thing.
She says, "You've corrupted me."
Maybe she always had this thirst for domination.
Maybe Kushemski brought it out.
Maybe she's just a woman.
The play's like an old anti-female tract.
He makes her play along, then blames her.
- It's not that at all. - It is!
How?
- Take the ending. - Yes.
She gets the Greek to whip him.
She dumps Kushemski, dick in hand,
and it's her fault when he wanted it'?
I think old Kushie's hot for the Greek.
How can you be so stupid?
How can you play her so well
and be so fucking stupid about her?
And all the rest!
Fucking idiot actress!
Dumb bitch!
Fucking idiot!
Pain in the ass!
I'm sorry.
What?
I'm sorry. I got a little carried away.
What's said is said.
I guess the play says beware what you wish for.
Because she could come knocking.
Don't fuck with a goddess. That's what it says.
If you will.
If you will...
What's modern for "if you will"?
"Whatever."
If you say so.
Good thing goddesses don't exist,
or you'd be fucked.
Okay, fine, you're right. I take all your points.
Can we read on?
Please, Vanda.
Don't you see you'll never be safe
in the hands of a women?
Of any woman?
You and I are adventurers, Vanda,
exploring the limits of human nature.
You're sick.
The countess poisoned you; behold the effects.
You love the effects, as I do.
No.
You love having power over me.
No.
Your desires will be my orders.
I'll beg. I'll crawl.
Make of me what you will.
You're a mad visionary, a fanatic.
You'll do anything to attain your dream.
You are my dream.
Break off with me, Severin,
before it's too late.
Do you love me?
I don't know.
Then find out.
Do something to persuade yourself.
How?
By doing what all lovers do.
Make me suffer.
I find that repulsive,
and I despise playacting.
I am not your Countess-Aunt. I am I.
Try that again. Defy him.
I am not your Countess-Aunt. I am I.
Again, stronger.
What do you want, Thomas?
I'm not your fucking aunt! I am I.
What do you want?
I don't know.
This isn't about the play now.
I just want more.
I'm not her!
I'm some stupid cunt who needs a job!
I'm not your aunt. I am I.
How's that?
That's good. Very good.
I can't play this part.
It's too hard for me.
Don't go, Vanda. Please stay.
Beg me.
I beg you.
You're evil.
Don't you see you have me in your power?
Liar.
You're not in my power; I'm in yours.
You say you're my slave, but you dominate me.
- That's true. - What?
He says she has power, but he has it, not her.
The more he submits, the more he controls.
Weird.
It's complicated.
Here's the contract We discussed.
It states that you will show me absolute submission.
You'll be my slave.
You'll renounce your identity completely.
Your body, your soul...
Your honor will be mine forever.
Sign.
Well?
It was supposed to be one year.
So you're dictating the terms?
May I read it?
Why? Don't you trust me?
Sign.
Good.
Henceforth, you'll call me "Madame,"
and you'll speak only when I let you.
You'll serve me my meals
and wait in the hallway for my orders.
You'll dress me in the morning,
undress me at night.
Hand me my stockings, put on my shoes.
I'll call you "Thomas."
- It's Gregor in the script. - I've changed it.
Henceforth I'll call you Thomas.
You'll wear a footman's livery.
As a gentleman-
As a gentleman you'll keep your word.
Didn't you sign a contract to be my slave?
Your slave, not your valet.
I fail to see the difference.
Is this a game'?
This is what I am.
I'm stubborn, willful, and greedy.
When I start something, I finish it.
The more you resist, the more I insist.
But at heart, you're of a noble nature.
What do you know of my nature apart from your imaginings?
Please forgive me. I'm despicable.
Give me your passport and your money.
Give them to me!
We leave tomorrow for Florence.
I'll travel in first class, you in third.
Third class?
You'll eat and sleep in the servants' quarters.
Well, Thomas, what is it?
Where will all this end?
End? We haven't even started.
But, Vanda...
"She slaps his face."
"She kisses him."
"She strokes his cheek."
Did that hurt, darling?
Yes, exquisitely.
Good.
What have you learned about the handsome Greek?
His name is Alexis. He's a count.
He's beautiful, isn't he?
He's very attractive.
I told you Kushemski's hot for the Greek.
Get me a box near his at the opera tonight.
I'll let Count Alexis seduce me.
But...
Vanda...
What's the matter?
Am I not free to do as I like?
You electrify me.
Silence, you dog.
Bring me a birch cane.
"He brings her a cane."
Do you hear that whistle'?
It makes my nerves vibrate
like a tuning fork.
I want to hear you whimper under the Sash.
To hear Herr Doktor Kushemski cry,
cry like a little girl.
My heart pounds in my breast.
The air is on fire.
What have you done? What have you done'?
Blah, blah, blah! Blah, blah, blah!
What? "Blah, blah, blah"?
Suddenly she's the Wicked Witch?
“The air is on fire. My nerves are tuning forks.“
Why not lightning and drumrolls too?
Listen, Tom, I really like you,
but this is way too corny.
Corny?
Corny how? This is the play.
My play!
It's a great play!
No one will make me think otherwise.
You know nothing.
I won't let anyone demolish my work,
whether you're in it or not!
Fuck you.
Okay, it's your call.
"She holds a knife to his throat."
God, I despise you.
What are you doing? What is this, Vanda?
You think I don't understand your game?
You think you can use me, subjugate me'?
I Want no such thing.
If you knew how delicious this feels.
You know what?
I'll call Actors' Equity.
Since you won't say if I've got the part.
I'd love to give you the part.
You say that now. Will you put it in writing?
Screw you, Marie-Cécile!
I'm still finishing up here.
He's fucking me, Marie-Cécile!
Fucking me up the ass!
No idea. Soon.
Banging me like a Labrador!
Go ahead and eat. I'll be there soon.
Isn't there some lamb left from yesterday?
I'll call you when I leave.
See you later.
Yeah, fine.
I don't know.
I'll be home when I'm home.
Go fuck yourself. Bye.
Sorry.
There was nobody there, right?
What?
You were pretending to talk to someone.
That was my other half.
Who is this guy?
Who said it's a guy?
Why did you do that?
Why do you think?
You didn't like me answering my phone.
Like female revenge or something?
Something like that, like.
Any other director would have jumped me by now.
I'm not any other director.
Bullshit.
If you thought you could, you'd have done it.
Wrong.
What if I let you?
How do you know so much about Marie-Cécile?
I met her at the gym.
Sure.
She seemed real nice.
Gorgeous too. Really.
We got talking while we were undressing.
Girl talk, like.
I said I gave up acting to be a private eye.
Or try to be.
She told me about her boyfriend.
A mysterious guy, a writer.
She paid me to look into you.
Find out who you are, see if you really love her.
A premarital fact-finding mission.
Your criminal record, financial situation...
I'm supposed to meet her
at the hotel later
for a complete report.
Great body, by the way. Congratulations.
You're incredible.
When a man says that, I sense a trick.
Touché.
Marie-Cécile never showers at the gym.
Really?
She sure was wet.
Shall we finish?
Yes.
Put this on.
Thomas, you kept me waiting.
I'm sorry, Madame.
I was polishing the silver.
You look very elegant in livery.
Thank you, Madame.
Turn around.
Oh, yes.
Quite irresistible.
I could forget you're just a footman.
But something is missing.
Hold on. That's not in the...
I'm improvising.
Something is missing.
Very fetching. The cherry on the cupcake.
Feels nice?
It feels very nice, Madame.
I might fab' in love with you, dressed like that.
“Might fall“?
So you don't love me?
You bore me, whimpering all the time.
You bore me.
ls it the count?
Are you in love with him'?
ls it my fault he followed me here?
He doesn't love you!
He wants you like a thousand others!
Insolent swine! How dare you.
Bring me my boots.
Yes, Madame.
Not there. In the bag.
Idiot.
Yes, Madame.
And call me "Mistress." It's more degrading.
Yes, Mistress.
Do you like my boots'?
Yes, Mistress.
Would you like to put them on?
Yes, Mistress.
I mean on me.
Yes, Mistress.
Tomorrow, I might tie you
to the fig tree in the garden
and prick you with my golden hairpin.
Or...
harness you naked to a plow
and drive you with a whip.
Would you like that?
Oh, yes, Mistress.
I'm very pleased with you, Thomas.
Maybe I'll give you a candy.
ls there anything else, Mistress?
Yes, one last thing.
Call Marie-Cécile. Say you won't be home.
I can't do that.
Really?
You can't?
No, I can't.
No phony excuses.
Hello?
Yes, Marie-Cécile, it's me.
"I won't be coming home."
I won't be coming home.
No excuses.
I can't tell you why.
Say good-bye.
Good-bye.
Now turn it off.
Isn't it Wonderful?
The two of us alone here?
This place is so nice.
So secluded.
I hardly know where I am.
Come.
A new life lies before you, before us.
Just the two of us.
The two of us and your friend the count.
I wish you'd stop harping on him.
I don't punish you enough. That's the problem.
Just as I was about to take you in my arms.
You were going to'?
Really?
Come.
Come here.
Put your arms around me.
You see?
For an hour I can let you imagine you're free again.
You simpleton.
You'll realize you're What I Want you to be.
An animal.
An object.
A void for me to fill.
I won't accept it.
I Won't do it. I refuse.
I beg your pardon'?
I've Written you a letter.
A letter?
To break off with me, perhaps?
The degradation you craved is too much to bear?
The degradation you craved...
I don't know how to play this line.
What do you mean?
It's pretty straightforward.
How do you hear it?
It's when... What's the cue line?
I've Written you a letter.
A letter?
To break off with me, perhaps?
The degradation you craved...
Lie down.
The degradation you craved...
ls too much to bear?
You've probably carried it for days,
afraid to show it to me.
Well, then?
Where is it? Show me this masterpiece.
I could use some entertainment.
That's great, Tom. That's awesome!
You should play Vanda.
No, uh-uh.
You should.
Be Vanda.
You understand her better than I do.
You created her. You know her inside out.
I don't know her lines.
Of course you do.
Be careful, Severin.
I'm doing my best, Mistress.
As usual, your best is not good enough.
Bring me my fur.
Yes, Mistress.
Prepare a bottle of champagne and two gasses.
Count Alexis will be here soon.
But, Mistress...
If you don't like it, leave. Get out of my sight.
Your fur, Mistress.
Will you marry Count Alexis, Mistress?
I Won't lie to you, Severin.
That men makes me tremble.
Fantastic.
Hold on...
Sit down.
He dwells in my thoughts.
loan? shut him out.
He dwells in my thoughts,
and I can? shut him out.
He makes me suffer.
Magnificent!
Hove this pain.
Stand up and cross down.
If he asks me to be his wife,
I will say yes from the bottom of my heart.
You're terrific!
You know he's jealous of you'?
I've told him all about us.
He probably threatened to kill you.
He did.
Did he strike you'?
Yes.
And you lei him'?
Yes, and it was sublime.
More!
Yes, and it was sublime.
Go on, throw it in his face.
Yes!
And it was sublime!
I'll kill you both.
I'll rip out your hearts and feed them to the dogs!
God damn you.
Yes, kill me, Severin!
I can't bear this game anymore.
Game? What game?
How can you love me'?
I've been awful to you, don? you see'?
I did all this to save you, to cure you,
to show how much I love you.
So none of that was true?
None of it.
It was just a game, an act?
What of the contract?
The contract...
My sweet little fool.
Severin...
Severin, I've loved you since I first saw you.
I couldn’t tell you I'm not what you think.
I'm so weak, so lost, you see.
Not bed.
You should subjugate me.
You should tie me up, whip me.
I'll tie you to the statue with your stockings.
You Want that, don't you?
Oh, yes, I beseech you.
Do with me what you will.
Promise me you'll never leave me.
I'll never leave you, I swear.
Stand up!
Hands!
I've dreamed of this
since I first met you.
Stronger! More!
Humiliate me.
Degrade me! Subjugate me!
That's good, Tom.
Really very good.
Brilliant.
Know what the problem is?
Whatever you say, whatever you do,
this play is degrading.
An insult to women! Pornography!
What are you talking about?
Just look at you.
A damsel in distress.
A helpless, submissive cunt.
'Beat me. Hurt me. I'm a woman!”
Fuck!
Fucking hell!
Strong emotions.
That's good.
We no longer see this kind of rage.
Vanda...
Thank me.
Thank you.
Ah!
"Thank you" what?
Thank you, Mistress.
You thought you could dupe some idiot actress?
Use her to satisfy your sick needs?
No.
Create your own female Frankenstein monster?
Use me? Humiliate me?
No, Vanda, I swear.
Thank you, Mistress.
Thank you, Goddess.
Thank you...
Goddess.
Shit!
Bacchae of the Cadmea.
Dance for Dionysus!
AND THE LORD HATH SMITTEN HIM...
AND DELIVERED HIM INTO A WOMAN'S HANDS.