SBS Productions/Mubi
There are plenty of beautiful things to admire in director Ira Sachs’ latest film, Passages (now in theaters). The movie—about two men, Tomas (Franz Rogowski) and Martin (Ben Whishaw), whose marriage dissolves when one of them begins a passionate affair with a woman named Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos)—is the sort of stereotypically French fare that you might find if you stumbled into an indie movie house on a Sunday afternoon. It’s filled with sexy, highly emotional people who casually betray each other in dimly lit bars, gorgeous loft apartments across various Parisian arrondissements, and even a country cottage pied-à-terre outside the city. Never mind that Sachs hails from Tennessee; on an atmospheric level alone, he’s tapped into all the right hallmarks of a sensual, sad French drama.
But even with all those pretty people and all of those exquisite locations, I’ve been unable to stop thinking about its most captivating visual aspect: Rogowski’s wildly titillating wardrobe.
Passages is a movie filled to the brim with eye-catching objects at nearly every turn, but there is none more striking than the costumes Rogowski’s Tomas wears. On first watch, one may think that Tomas’ clothing is simply a representation of the character’s visual flair, and that’s certainly true to some degree; Tomas is a film director who prides himself on detail. But a deeper look at Rogowski’s costuming, and how it’s used within the context of the film’s twisty narrative, reveals his character’s monstrous motivations and narcissism. It’s one of the most deceptively calculated (and frankly, absolutely erotic) wardrobes in any film this year.