Sex, Lies And Videotape (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	An excellent first fim from Steven Soderbergh .
Disadvantages:	Slow paced .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

- SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE -

Released in 1989, Sex, Lies, and Videotape is an Independent film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring James Spader (Secretary), Peter Gallagher (The OC) San Giacomo, and Andie MacDowell. Genre Drama. BBFC Rating: 18. RunningTime: One hour 35 Minutes.-

Ann Milaney (Andie MacDowell) lives a suburban life in Louisiana, married to lawyer husband John (Peter Gallagher). She lives a comfortable existence, though she is deeply troubled by her melancholy personality. Introvert and unsure of herself, she fills her day thinking a lot about all the unhappiness in the world. The real problems lay with the basic unhappiness with her relationship with her husband. He is always busy and often works late into the night after office hours. She has a niggling feeling that all is not well with their relationship, and that he could possibly be having an affair. The main problem with Anne's existence is that she has nothing to do all day and she dwells upon her seemingly stagnent, unimportant role in life. A comment from Anne which just about sums her up is: "I've just got all this time on my hands". So is her discontentment born of this? Or is it something else that is troubling her that she can't quite put her finger on?

Out of the blue and with no prior warning an old college friend of Johns arrives at the house. Graham Dalton (James Spader) has decided to look John up after nine years of no contact. On opening the door Anne is both surprised and flustered at Graham's arrival upon their doorstep. You get the impression that Anne is instantly attracted to Graham; their eye contact is intense, telling that Graham also seems to feel the same way. Graham is a strange man, straight talking in a slow deliberate manner. Serious by nature you feel that there is so much more under the exterior of this enigmatic man. Graham tells them his marriage has ended, though he doesn't explain why. It would appear that he has been deeply hurt by something that has happened to cause the break up in the relationship, and he is emotionally troubled about something a little more serious also.

Graham is really quite an odd character and he has an intense quality about him that is quite disarming and he is the type of person that can make you feel quite uncomfortable, with his silences and direct line of questioning. Anne has an extrovert sister Laura (San Giacomo) who is overtly sexual, sleeps around a lot and is the total opposite to Anne, with her quiet ways and faithful nature. Anne is constantly reprimanding Laura for her blatant display of sexual behaviour.

Anne is outwardly both sexually repressed and prudish and she cannot seem to express her inward feelings of dissatisfaction with her life. When Graham arrives, Anne starts to question everything that her life is based upon, and questioning the relationship with her husband even more. Graham rents a house nearby, where he houses his 'personal' video collection, a hobby, which seems to have taken over his life. He hides this secret from all of them, afraid that they will not understand his reasons for keeping such a strange collection of videos.-

Sex, lies and videotape is quite well summed up by the film title. It is a clever, intelligent film from Steven Soderbergh. Basically 'Sex, Lies and Video Tape' is a tale of voyeurism and infidelity, feelings and relationships. Quietly spoken and beautifully shot, the film is a story of personalities and feelings, and all four characters intertwine and interconnect in a bizarre series of events, culminating in an obvious outcome I felt. Soderbergh's impressive directorial debut shows the peeling away of layers of each character, to reveal their true personalities and the complexities of human nature. Secrets are uncovered and lies exposed amidst a tense drama which is fascinating to watch. Although the film's title suggests sex, there is very little contained within the film. It is more the suggestion that lies are related to sex, and in this films case that is exactly what is entailed.

James Spader is brilliant in the part of the Graham. He has the sort of face that works well in this type of part, and indeed, worked extremely well in 'Secretary'. He has a thoughtful quality about him, like there is a lot going on behind the eyes, and he played the part well and was totally believable as the odd drifter Graham. Likewise Andie MacDowell was perfect in the role of Anne and displayed the correct amount of fragility and quiet rage as the film unfolded its storyline. For me these were the two main parts and performances for me. The film is low on action but it more than makes up for it in its character studies, which I find infinitely more interesting than frantic pace.

The film is quite static in its scene changes also and there is hardly any location work going on here. But the film is not about scenery it's about the emotions and personalities of these four people. Human and beautifully shot the film observes how the characters react to the events unfolding. European in its feel, Sex, Lies and Videotape will not appeal to all. But if you like a quiet purposeful film, with slow pace and an interesting story of human nature then I recommend this to you. This film was well received in Cannes and won the Golden Palm Award for director and also 'Best Actor Award' for James Spader. Then aged only 26, Soderbergh was the youngest director to win the festival's top award. The film was a huge success and played a large part in contributing to the 1990s independent film revolution. Amazingly, Soderbergh wrote Sex, Lies and Video Tape in just eight days.

Sex, Lies and Video tape is an unpretentious, honest account of emotions, feelings, lies and ulterior motives, convincingly acted out by all concerned. It's about the breaking down of barriers, and the peeling away of layers to reveal the true person. I loved it and it remains another that will stay in my collection of favourite films.-

Starring:
James Spader.
Peter Gallagher.
Andie MacDowell.
Laura San Giacomo

Director:
Steven Soderbergh

Thank you for reading
Electra 2008*