RESEARCH: CRIMES OF PASSION

In literature, as in cinema, crimes of passion have been powerful subject matter, often involving gripping themes of infatuation, obsession, despair and revenge. The genre usually involves an intense love relationship in which overwhelmingly strong feelings result in impulses towards violence. The term ‘crime passionnel’ refers to this type of murder, in which the perpetrator finds himself in the grip of irresistibly powerful emotions, and argues that the crime is not premeditated, therefore cannot be first degree murder. The narrative is often built around a love triangle, with jealousy and possessiveness at its core.
Certain Societies have tolerated such crimes against women, arguing the defence of passion and provocation. Shakespeare's Othello for instance is a tale of sexual jealousy culminating in murder. In the film A Perfect Murder, a powerful and wealthy husband arranges for the death of his wife.

Robert Browning's My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue which voices the justification of a jealous husband for doing away with his young bride. The Duke is a collector of beautiful objects, but when he finds that his wife smiles innocently at other people and thanks them prettily, rather than saving all the gratitude for him, he has her murdered. Later, he 'possesses' her by keeping her portrait hidden behind a curtain in his gallery, another object in his expensive, rare collection of beautiful objects.

In our film, we plan to feature a similar scenario, in which the object of the mans love is kept in a sort of shrine, and he justifies his violence towards her. Literature and film is full of women sacrificed on the altar of powerful men's pride.