Loss of Sexual Innocence, The (1999)

reviewed by
Mac VerStandig


The Loss of Sexual Innocence
1/2 Star (Out of 4)
Reviewed by Mac VerStandig
critic@moviereviews.org
http://www.moviereviews.org
June 17, 1999

Mike Figgis' The Loss of Sexual Innocence is a movie so confusing, so boring, and so poorly done that the Better Business Bureau should step in and stop any poor, unsuspecting citizen from wasting their money on this sad excuse for a film.

The premise of this piece of junk production that is attempting to pass itself off as art is nearly unrealizable. Figgis (best known for his critically acclaimed film, Leaving Las Vegas) takes several small stories involving Nic (John Cowey at age five, George Moktar at age twelve, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers at age 16, and Julian Sands at adult age), the film's central character, and interweaves them with the biblical tale of Adam (Femi Ogumbanjo) and Eve's (Hanne Klintoe) descent from the Garden of Eden. There is no apparent rhyme nor reason to the order of assembly of these stories, nor any true connections other than a common loss of innocence, notably not always of a sexual nature.

Making the plot even more difficult to follow is the film's resemblance to many silent picture of the early 1900's, opting for a delightful musical score in place of dialogue. The little speech in this film is insignificant to the plot, or so you assume because it is almost entirely drowned out by the background music.

The Loss of Sexual Innocence leaves its audience asking themselves "Huh?" Not only is the viewer totally disillusioned, but it is works like this that are constantly making the line between art and junk ever more blurry. Perhaps a more fitting title would have been "The Loss of Artistic Innocence."


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