Lighthearted as it is, Venus in Fur has the rare effect of filtering the viewer's life through its own extreme lens.

While the extraordinarily talented Polish-born director rarely falters in translating the source's theatrical strengths, his Venus in Fur feels oddly impersonal, lacking the trademark touch of Polanski perversity.

What plays out is roller-coaster ride of shifting identity and sexual brinkmanship...Mischievous and sadistic by turns, it becomes a deadly serious battle of the sexes.

[The film] shows that Polanski has not dropped his fascination with Exterminating Angels – perhaps a reflection of his limited freedom of movement [It] marks Polanski’s return to the comedy-horror tone he established in The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)