Backstage

2005

1h 55m

Drama

List

71%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

60%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

Teenage Lucie (Isild Le Besco) is a great fan of rock diva Lauren Waks (Emmanuelle Seigner), so she is thrilled when her mother arranges for the woman to pay a visit to their home. Lauren warbles a love song and leaves, and Lucie runs away to be with the object of her obsession. The teen manages to worm her way into Lauren's entourage and forms an emotionally co-dependent bond with the megastar.

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Critics Consensus

Backstage is an overwrought psychological thriller that offers a fascinating look into the relationship between pop star and obsessive fan.

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Steve Murray

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Backstage doesn't really tell us much about the world of rock musicians, or the mental workings of their scariest fans.

Rated: C

Mar 8, 2007

Full Review

Bill Stamets

Chicago Sun-Times

Backstage reveals a tender, creepy transaction between idol and idolator.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 2, 2007

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Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

From that very first scene, which plays like a berserk fantasy erupting into the movie's 'reality,' I found Backstage almost impossible to believe.

Rated: 2/4

Feb 1, 2007

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Dan Sallitt

Senses of Cinema

Feet of clay notwithstanding, [Emmanuelle] Seigner's larger-than-life idol never completely loses her magical quality... and ultimately Backstage's considerable pleasure comes from the breathless feeling of making a map of sacred ground.

Oct 17, 2018

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Peter Sobczynski

eFilmCritic.com

A weakly conceived drama with a central performance that serves as the final nail in the coffin.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 10, 2007

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Matt Pais

Metromix.com

Spine-tingling suspense comes from a young girl ... undeterred by a star's confession that she really can't offer any of the validation that her fans so desperately crave.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 1, 2007

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Audience Member

Had potential, but falls back on the old French staple of style over substance. Some suspense, but drifts and feels contrived. Performance-wise, Isild Le Besco is irritating, but Emmanuelle Seigner provides the suitable gravitas, and hedonistic randomness, as the pop star.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Incoherent, illogical, unattractive, boring, and pretentious. It's not remotely erotic or convincing. So shallow it's not even self-indulgent. The depth of the emotions stop at the tears. It sheds no insight to the world of a musical idol or the mentality of a psychopath. All characters (main or supporting) have no more life than the stuffed deer. This is a film that tries too much and achieves nothing.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

Obsessed fan gets a job running errands for her favorite singer. Great performance from Isild Le Besco as the awkward slightly crazy fan.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Audience Member

Sensual and intense, with a love triangle as complicated as only the French can make it. A fine study of obsession and co-dependency, where an unbalanced fan is drawn into the even more insane world of her idol.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Whoa. What an awesome premise/story. The first 10 minutes will suck you in astonishingly fast. Unfortunately, the film gets too caught up in being all european and psychologically erotic (ie. it drags and becomes tedious). But man, this needs an American remake pronto.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Two hours of watching Isild Le Besco's character aimlessly feeding an obsession for a vaguely undeserving (and underserving) star would be worth it if either of them would sustain the occasional bit of growth and clarity they experience in the process, but it seems the most we can hope for is a bit of improvement in a life grounded somewhat less shallowly in reality. French or not, ennui is still more boring than noble.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

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Emmanuelle Bercot

Director

Emmanuelle Seigner

Lauren Waks

Isild Le Besco

Lucie

Noémie Lvovsky

Juliette

Valéry Zeitoun

Seymour

Samuel Benchetrit

Daniel

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Synopsis

Teenage Lucie (Isild Le Besco) is a great fan of rock diva Lauren Waks (Emmanuelle Seigner), so she is thrilled when her mother arranges for the woman to pay a visit to their home. Lauren warbles a love song and leaves, and Lucie runs away to be with the object of her obsession. The teen manages to worm her way into Lauren's entourage and forms an emotionally co-dependent bond with the megastar.

Director: Emmanuelle Bercot
Producer: Caroline Benjo, Carole Scotta
Screenwriter: Emmanuelle Bercot, Jérôme Tonnerre
Production Co: Haut et Court, Arte France Cinema
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Nov 22, 2006
Release Date (DVD): Apr 3, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.3K
Runtime: 1h 55m