Film research: Representations of the Femme Fetale

The definition of "Femme Fatale"
A femme fatale is a stock character of a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to entrance and hypnotise her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, vampire, witch, or demon, having power over men.

The phrase is French for "fatal woman". A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure. In some situations, she uses lying or coercion rather than charm. She may also make use of some subduing weapon such as sleeping gas, a modern analog of magical powers in older tales. She may also be (or imply that she is) a victim, caught in a situation from which she cannot escape; The Lady from Shanghai (a 1947 film noir) is one such example. A younger version of a femme fatale may be called a fille fatale, or "fatal girl".

Although typically villainous, if not morally ambiguous, and always associated with a sense of mystification and unease, femmes fatales have also appeared as anti-heroines in some stories, and some even repent and become true heroines by the end of the tale. Some stories even feature benevolent and heroic femmes fatales who use their wiles to snare the villain for the greater good.

Definition taken from Wikipedia

Other websites used for the definition of Femme Fatale:

• "An alluring or seductive woman, esp one who causes men to love her to their own distress", taken from The Free Dictionary
• "An attractive and seductive woman, especially one who will ultimately cause distress to a man who becomes involved with her", taken from Oxford Dictionaries
• "An irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations; siren", taken from Dictionary.com

Our Character/Protagonist

Using the information we found out about the Femme Fatale, we decided that we wanted the name of the character to subtly reflect these characteristics. We chose the name Rose because a rose is beautiful and most commonly red (which is one of the character's main colours) and can be alluring. It is the symbol of love, which we thought was ironic, but also it has thorns which can cause pain to unsuspecting people, which is what the protagonist in this film does to her partner.

Although our protagonist uses her sexuality and her partner's affection, we also wanted to make her more human and show that she is a three-dimensional individual. Therefore, in the opening sequence we wanted to portray her guilt at having to use the boyfriend to gain what she wants. We aim to achieve this by the shots: showing her reaction when he is speaking in the opening sequence.

Throughout the rest of the film, we would aim for the other sides of her character to be revealed:

• Actually falling in love with her partner
• Being able to fight in the action scenes
• Showing that she is also an intelligent woman
• Her love for her sister
• Her relief upon finding her sister

Our Femme Fatal references are:

• Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke from Revenge 

• Beatrix Kiddo/The Bride from Kill Bill 

• Mrs Smith from Mr & Mrs Smith 

• Mallony Kane from Haywire 

• Evelyn Salt from Salt

And others such as:

• Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games 
• Hanna from Hanna
• Julia Russel/Bonny Castle from Original Sin