French and English, and learned the phonetics and enunciations despite not understanding the language. Assayas stated he initially did not intend to cast any American or English-speaking actresses in the film, though both Sevigny and Gershon—both Americans—were ultimately cast in major roles. "I've always been a fan of Hollywood cinema," Assayas commented, "including mainstream films that many people disdain. The characters are sometimes simplistic, but there are often strong dramatic elements that I admire. What amused me in writing Demonlover was trying to include some of those aspects of American cinema." Filming Principal photography of 'Demonlover took place in the fall of 2001, primarily in Paris and Tokyo, on a budget of approximately US$8 million. Additional filming took place in Mexico. Soundtrack The film's soundtrack album features eight tracks by the band Sonic Youth, as well as songs by Goldfrapp, Death in Vegas, Dub Squad, Soulfly, [Thee Silver Mt. Zion], and Darkthrone. It was released in 2002. Release Demonlover premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. It was subsequently released theatrically in France on 6 November 2002, and in the United States on 19 September 2003 by Palm Pictures, premiering in Los Angeles in its original unrated cut. It opened in Boston the following week, 26 September 2003. The film grossed $462,976 internationally. Critical response Reviews were mixed. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 53% approval rating based on 85 reviews, with a weighted average of 5.7/10. The site's consensus describes the film as "A stylish but convoluted mess without any sympathetic characters". Metacritic gives the film a score of 64 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave a mixed review of the film, summarizing: "There's an ironic twist, but the movie hadn't paid for it and didn't deserve it... No one seems to question the fact that they all play to make money by torturing people. It's all just business. As a metaphor for certain tendencies in modern commerce, this may be intended, but somehow I don't think so. I think Demonlover is so in love with its visuals and cockeyed plot that it forgets to think about the implications." Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Manohla Dargis praised the film as "gorgeous, exasperating [and] irresistible," praising the film's "intricately plotted screenplay," which she described as a mixture of Restoration drama, pulp and speculative fiction at a "break-neck speed." Owen