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Nicole Brenez's Book Reexamines Abel Ferrara's Cinema of Negativity

publication · 2026-04-23

Nicole Brenez's book on Abel Ferrara, released by Éditions Cahiers du cinéma, portrays the director as a Dante navigating a decayed era, reminiscent of Baudelaire through Barbey d'Aurevilly's lens. The monograph delves into Ferrara's dark, violent, and tormented filmography, which bridges independent cinema, mainstream production, and underground scenes. Brenez contends that his films align with Georges Bataille's exploration of negativity to confront evil and critique society. Similar to Fassbinder, Cassavetes, and Pasolini, Ferrara addresses contemporary malevolence, focusing on themes like death, crime, and the sacred. Through works like Ms. 45, King of New York, and Bad Lieutenant, his characters, engulfed in rage and pain, reflect a corrupted American landscape shaped by a criminal economy.

Key facts

  • Nicole Brenez authored a monograph on Abel Ferrara published by Éditions Cahiers du cinéma.
  • The book compares Ferrara to Baudelaire, as seen by Barbey d'Aurevilly: 'a Dante of a fallen epoch.'
  • Brenez examines Ferrara's violent, melancholic, and tortured work between independent cinema, industrial production, and underground culture.
  • The study argues Ferrara's work pursues Bataille's goal of exploring negativity to account for evil.
  • Ferrara is compared to filmmakers Fassbinder, Cassavetes, and Pasolini in addressing contemporary evil.
  • Key films analyzed include Ms .45, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction, New Rose Hotel, and Mary.
  • Ferrara's characters are described as addicts, alcoholics, in permanent fury, overwhelmed by pain.
  • The book inscribes the question of evil directly onto the body.
  • The review is written by Céline Gailleurd.
  • The source is artpress.com, dated May 1, 2009.

Entities

Artists

  • Abel Ferrara
  • Nicole Brenez
  • Barbey d'Aurevilly
  • Charles Baudelaire
  • Georges Bataille
  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  • John Cassavetes
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini
  • Céline Gailleurd

Institutions

  • Éditions Cahiers du cinéma
  • artpress

Sources