For some reason, sex and murder go together like bread and butter, and no genre encompasses that notion like the erotic thriller. The Blue Room deals with these subjects in the same way as many others do, but it's also a French movie, which automatically means it's more erotic than your bog standard English-language affair, because... well, that's all the explanation that's needed: it's French. Starring Mathieu Amalric and Stephanie Cleau as a salesman and his mistress, The Blue Room's sex scenes provide its finest moments. Though the rest of the flick clings to a somewhat questionable plot (with a climax that might well be described as "anti-climatic"), it doesn't really matter: the instances depicting Amalric and Cleau in the midst of their love affair cements The Blue Room as a contemporary erotic thriller you should really seek out. Not to mention it offers an intelligent look at the destruction that comes with adultery.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
