FEMALE PERVERSIONS
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
Germany/United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: May 1997 (limited) Running Length: 1:58 MPAA Classification: R (Sex, nudity, profanity, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Amy Madigan, Karen Sillas, Frances Fisher,=20 Laila Robbins, Paulina Porizkova, Clancy Brown Director: Susan Streitfeld Producer: Mindy Affrime Screenplay: Julie Hebert and Susan Streitfeld Cinematography: Teresa Medina Music: Debbie Wiseman U.S. Distributor: Transatlantic Entertainment
Before FEMALE PEVERSIONS, I never thought of Tilda Swinton=20 (ORLANDO) as possessing much sexual allure. Her performance here, the=20 best thing about this sporadically effective exploration of sexuality=20 and gender roles, has convinced me otherwise. With her finely-chiseled=20 features, alabaster skin, and ruby red lips, she radiates eroticism,=20 whether she's wearing a designer suit, transparent neglig=E9e, or nothing=20 at all. If there's a reason to see FEMALE PERVERSIONS, it's Swinton.
Had this film been directed by a man, I would have been tempted to=20 call it soft porn, but, since there's a woman (Susan Streitfeld) putting=20 all the naked female flesh up on screen, it seems a little less=20 exploitative. Besides, there are times when the nudity is important to=20 the script, and FEMALE PERVERSIONS is nothing if not rich in ideas. In=20 fact, that's part of the problem. The movie is so focused on presenting=20 its agenda that it frequently lapses into pretentiousness. The=20 characters don't always speak dialogue; occasionally, they start=20 mouthing slogans. And there's some embarrassingly heavy-handed dream=20 imagery that features a naked woman being bound after falling off a=20 tightrope.
FEMALE PERVERSIONS is inspired by FEMALE PERVERSIONS: THE=20 TEMPTATIONS OF EMMA BOVARY, an non-fiction book by feminist Louise J.=20 Kaplan. There are times when Streitfeld tries a little too hard to get=20 Kaplan's points into the film, and the result is less-than-successful. =20 A pillow has the following phrase on it: "Perversions are never what=20 they seem to be." A television has this caption crawling across the=20 bottom of the screen: "Perversion keeps despair, anxiety, and depression=20 at bay." And a roadside bench offers the message: "In a perversion,=20 there is no freedom, only a rigid conformity to stereotype." I'm not=20 sure what all of this means, but, despite the unsubtle manner in which=20 the ideas are presented, it's impossible to deny that FEMALE PERVERSIONS=20 says provocative things.=20
Swinton plays Eve Stephens, an aggressive attorney who's up for an=20 open position on the Court of Appeals. From the outside, Eve appears to=20 have everything -- she's a smart, powerful, attractive go-getter whose=20 career is on the rise and whose love-life would be the envy of many=20 professional women. She knows how to use her body to get what she wants=20 -- her cleavage and subtle body language are as much a part of her=20 closing arguments as are her words. Deep-down, however, Eve is=20 troubled. She is haunted by feelings of inadequacy, has recurring=20 visions of herself failing, experiences nightmares of a violent=20 confrontation between her parents, and hears babbling voices. One of=20 those voices, referring to her use of sexuality to sway opinion in her=20 favor, comments: "Nothing about you is genuine. Everyone knows you're a=20 fraud." Driven ever closer to the line between madness and sanity, Eve=20 begins taking risks in every aspect of her life.
It's a good thing that Eve is such an interesting character,=20 because no one else in FEMALE PERVERSIONS is better than paper-thin. =20 Each of the other females represents some aspect of womanhood. Amy=20 Madigan's Madelyn is the intellectual asexual, Laila Robbins' Emma is=20 the insecure submissive, Frances Fisher's Annunciata is the seductress,=20 and Karen Sillas' Renee is the lesbian. Unfortunately, these=20 individuals aren't just described by their characteristics -- they're=20 defined by them, and that makes FEMALE PERVERSIONS' entire supporting=20 population profoundly uninteresting. =20
Ultimately, FEMALE PERVERSIONS is frustratingly incomplete. As a=20 character study, it has flashes of brilliance, but strong ideas, erotic=20 sex scenes, and a lot of naked flesh can't make up for the lack of a=20 compelling story. In a way, this film reminded me of KAMA SUTRA; the=20 two share a number of similarities. Both feature attractive main=20 performers, have a lot to say about gender and sexuality, and lack a=20 strong narrative. The one advantage FEMALE PERVERSIONS has is Tilda=20 Swinton, but she can't quite tip the balance in the movie's favor. =20 FEMALE PERVERSIONS is often too pretentious to be profound.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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