Sex, Lies, and Videotape
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Movie Reviews of Sex, Lies, and Videotape
Movie Review: Let's talk about sex...
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the smartest and all around cleverest films I've had the pleasure of ever seeing; `Sex, Lies and Videotape' is a very moving and poignant study of the effect that sex has on our lives. Taking four individuals and placing them under scrutiny, Soderbergh's masterpiece single-handedly does what so many have attempted to do in the past; take sex out of the bedroom and place it in the living-room, where we all are forced to confront it.
Be aware though, despite the films rather graphic subject, the content here within is no where near as graphic as one might expect it to be. This is not an `adult film' but a study of adults; there is a difference.
The film tells the story of unhappily married couple Ann and John Mullany. In the opening scene we hear Ann telling her therapist that she believes John is having an affair because he no longer longs to touch her. She has found herself distanced from him and she wonders who he is sleeping with. The answer is Cynthia, Ann's flirtatious sister. Cynthia and John have been sleeping with one another for some time now, and Ann has only a suspicion but no hard evidence. The Graham walks into their lives. Graham is John's old college roommate who stops by for an extended visit. He brings with him his fetesh; videotape.
Not what you think.
Graham, being impotent, likes to videotape women talking about their fantasies and desires. He records their most intimate of secrets and uses them later for his own fantasies. The videotapes are a mask to hide the pain of his own failures with women, a way for him to stay guarded because commitment is something that terrifies him. The videotape is a way for Graham to experience love and lust without ever having to give of himself and so he exploits those he knows in an attempt to salvage the humanity he has left in himself. He is scorned and guilty and ashamed, and this plays heavily into why he feels it necessary to restrict himself of a woman's touch and rely wholly on the fantasies they cement for him on film.
This movie is so much deeper than `sex', believe me.
The film is elevated by some very strong performances; most notably by the female portion of the cast. Laura San Giacomo is astonishing as the deliciously despicable Cynthia. She oozes forth with this creamy seduction that captures her characters personality disorders marvelously. Andie MacDowell has found the perfect film for her form of acting. I said this before with `Four Weddings and a Funeral', where she was perfectly cast as the uninteresting girl you can't help but find interesting. MacDowell is one of those actresses who rarely excites you; but here she manages to use that sullen demeanor to create a woman ravaged by an unidentifiable pain. She doesn't understand why she feels so lost and so distant and it haunts her, and she bleeds that through with each passing scene. James Spader is effectively reserved, as he is almost always, and Peter Gallagher manages not to disgust me (I really dislike this guy for the most part) but as a whole this movie belongs to the women.
In the end I must recommend this movie. Sure, it is a little rough in some scenes so don't expect a PG film here; there is a rating system for a reason, but if you can appreciate film as an art form then you will find much to appreciate here. This is a thinking mans film for it exposes the highs and low of America's favorite pastime (okay, humanities favorite pastime) allowing us to finally understand why this `activity' is so vitally important.
Movie Review: best independent film ever
Summary: 5 Stars
I always watch this magnificent movie through earphones because the background sound used by Soderbergh is so exquisite.
sex, lies was the first independent film to equal or surpass the production values of Hollywood movies. The cinematography (Soderbergh was the film editor), the stereo sound, are spectacular.
The film includes many riches and rewards. To mention a few:
One thing I've always noticed is that John and Cynthia have similar features. They both have black hair, thick eyebrows, wide-set eyes, and a faintly reptilian appearance. Whether this was a conscious casting decision by Soderbergh one can only speculate. Perhaps not, since the film was made on such a low budget.
Soderbergh sometimes joins two scenes by a word or a phrase. "Can I ask you something personal?", asked by Ann in the restaurant, is repeated by Cynthia to John. Later, when Ann says to John "You never used to say f...," this is the first word of John's speech to Cynthia in the following scene.
Another thing I've always noticed and admired is that Soderberg's camera is always moving just a bit to the left or to the right. The scenes are never static. This personal quirk adds style and depth to our viewing experience.
Some of the dialogue between Ann and Graham toward the end doesn't make much sense to me (except when she tells him "Your problems are not yours only. You've had an effect on my life. I'm divorcing my husband, and maybe I would have anyway, but I'm doing it sooner because of you."), and I have a problem with Graham ending up with a neurotic suburban conformist like Ann. But the fact that sisterhood triumphs over Cynthia's infidelity with Ann's husband is a fine irony.
Unlike tom Buchanan in THE GREAT GATSBY, who ends up with Daisy and his money while Gatsby dies, John Mullaney loses both his women and his job. Clearly Soderbergh was preparing for this throughout the movie.
A masterpiece by a 26-year-old filmmaker, to be compared to REPULSION by a 28-year old Roman Polanski. In my opinion Soderbergh never matched this level of inspiration in his later films. Neither did Andie McDowell nor Laura San Giacomo. A once-in-a-lifetime confluence.
Movie Review: Sexually Entertaining Buoyed by Flawless Performances.
Summary: 5 Stars
Viewed: 7/03, 12/04, 2/07, 10/10
Rate: 10
2/07: Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a small masterpiece. Starting off slow while slowly building up the depth of the characters, it begins to revolve around one man, Graham Dalton played superbly by James Spader, and then the conflict explodes in a climatic ending. Steve Soderberg keeps his direction taut and focused on the four primary players while trying to let the characters evolve and become the people with real problems. It's interesting how the conflicts of each player are intertwined with others, and then they become connected. The performances are outstanding: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, and Laura San Giacomo. It's funny that I would see James Spader's character to be dark and mysterious, but in the end, he is just an ordinary person; however, not as mysterious as Mickey Rourke's John of 9 ½ Weeks. What makes Sex, Lies, and Videotape to work and achieve its accolades is the simplicity of the picture.
10/10: The sensual energy is what sustains the momentum for Sex, Lies, and Videotape that never lets down. The performances by James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, and Laura San Giacomo are throughly excellent and flawless. What I loved about the film the most is how James Spader's performance affected everybody else around him and how his character is the focal point even though he has a small but important role. This was a very small, low-key type of a picture, but the way Steven Soderbergh executed it...that was just brilliant. It was also his first full-length picture. So kudos for him. Of course, the title is misleading, making the audience think it might entail some nude scenes, but the film actually never did a second of it. That is what was so brilliant about the film: the sexual feelings and the romanticism aspect of it yet no actual viewing of naked people. Other films will do the obvious and still fail to be a sexy picture. All in all, Sex, Lies, and Videotape is easily the best film of everybody's career and remains one of the best films I've ever seen.
Movie Review: A Marvelous and Multi-Faceted Film
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had a personal journey with this film that is quite unique in my own experience, but perhaps not unique among others who have enjoyed it. I first watched sex, lies & videotape in a theater and was bored by it. Perhaps the title had me looking for more explicit elements in the film that just aren't there. As other reviews here point out, the film is far more subtle than its bold title would suggest.
Months later I was in a video store and decided to give the movie another try (my companion when I first saw it had loved it, so I figured it was worth a shot). Upon the second viewing, I really liked it, appreciating more in depth the interaction of the characters, the challenges (mostly internal) that they face, and the story lines of the film.
Several months passed after this second viewing and again I returned to it at the video store, being one who gravitates toward old favorites more often than not. Watching the film for the third time, I found myself appreciating the film as a love story as tender and touching as others I'd seen, though far more quirky than your typical love story plot.
The next time I picked up the box in the video store (yes, I did eventually just BUY it!), I noted a review that proclaimed the movie as "hilarious", which really caught my attention. Here I had seen the movie three times, in three different ways and yet I could not remember at any time finding anything remotely funny about it. So again I rented it and, yes, found myself laughing out loud at times during the movie. Don't get me wrong, it will never be mistaken for Caddyshack, but it does have its own quirky sense of humor.
Now, the movie is naturally among my all-time top five. Soderbergh has gone on to become a great director that at times is very heavy-handed artistically (e.g. Limey, Traffic), while at other times letting the story or the actors lead they way (e.g. Erin Brockovich). In this first critical and commercial success, however, it is his writing that is perhaps most impressive.
Movie Review: Languid Angst
Summary: 5 Stars
Have you always been depressed? (asks the therapist)Andie MacDowell (Southern belle w/ennui): "Oh, yes, well, except for a little while, 'couple years ago, I was happy for a while-I hated it. I gained weight."
This is actually a movie about trust, despite the deceit that colors most modern human relationships. Soderbergh's quiet little drama about Southern duplicity (lies) is as much about communication style as it is about passion (sex). The filming (videotapes) referred to in the title comes from Spader's irritating habit of filming his surroundings (as opposed to interacting with it). MacDowell-his college roommate's unhappy wife is equally detached, but in an entirely different way. The film moves into and out of three circles of relations-the two men, the two known relationships and the two illicit affairs.
It is about attachment and detached feelings and the way people move into and out of our lives. The background are so sparse and muted that only the movement of the actors catches our eye. We are shown only an interior world of offices and homes. Only the actors and their dialogue get special attention. It is intimate in a way that few "non-independents" films allow themselves to be, and rarely accomplish. The result is a tone that is conspiratorial and not a little voyearistic.
As the film moves forward it is clear that there are no "good guys" "bad guys" here. Men lie to their wives and themselves. Truth is negotiable and there is no pity to those niave enough to have faith in other people. Soderbergh saves us from a nihilistic finish, but just barely.
One fun thing to watch is the clothing of the two main characters: Spader and MacDowell-watch how they change during the course of the film as they move toward a mutually comfortable distance.