Vicious Circles

I first saw this movie years ago, and have seen a lot of erotic thrillers since. I watched it again recently and my estimate of it went through the roof ... I simply had not seen enough erotic thrillers to properly evaluate it when I first watched it.

In form it is an adaptation of a common Internet bondage fantasy: a hot young woman (played by Carolyn Lowery) is forced by circumstances to become the sexual plaything of a wealthy older man (Ben Gazzara at his oily best here) joining a sex club called "The Circle" as one of their slave girls. Basically, it's a harem, but the inhabitants aren't there because they are slaves or wives, they are simply young women who like all that money they get for being in the harem, and don't mind wearing sex harnesses and having sex with older men.

In most Internet bondage fantasies, the progress of the story consists of the young woman learning how very, very much she likes being (or playing the part of) a sex slave. But Vicious Circles has a much twistier plot that involves freeing her brother from trumped-up drug charges. She learns to use her sexual prowess for her own and others' benefit, becoming a more powerful person in the process. It's a refreshingly different story.

The direction, pacing, cinematography, and most of all the writing of this movie are all topnotch. The acting is a little wooden in places, especially by the supporting character. Carolyn Lowery pumps so much heat and sizzle into her character that her growth as a temptress seems matter-of-course: I can think of many actresses for whom it would simply not be believable.

There are a couple of very silly scenes, most especially the mysterious wazooifier and the grasshoppers. Well it's not PERFECT -- that's why I gave it an 8 instead of a 10. But compared to most erotic thrillers, which are either all erotica (and generally more pornographic than erotic) or all thriller (and generally not all that thrilling) this film is a work of genius.

Set in contemporary Paris, Vicious Circles turns Dangerous Liaisons on its head by turning the dissolute obsessions of the rich against them, for the sake of a legitmate obsession with a just cause.

In order to free her brother from a bum rap that could keep him in prison for a very long time, Andrea ("Andy") becomes a slave in a sex ring that provides film maker, Whitelaw, with the perfect setting with which to satirize the international haut bourgeois world of Paris, which he evokes with astute familiarity.

Unlike most erotic thrillers which hypocritically seem to condemn the sexual

exploitation of women at the same time they use it to titillate the viewer, Vicious Circles reveals a heroine who deliberately contrives her own exploitation in

order to bring down those who imagine themselves her masters.

I only saw the "R-rated" version of this mess, but unless there are many more erotic scenes in the uncut version, I can't imagine it being much better. The video box is most misleading as it promises lots of high class sexual situations. Yeah, right! Lowery is a promising actress and her nude scenes (not enough) are well done but nothing really happens in this movie for about an hour. It's really quite boring.

What could have been a sleazy, yet interesting look at a high-class call-girl ring in Paris turns into a subpar, boring, Made-For-TV bit of tripe, spiced up only occasionally by the tease of Lowery flashing a bit of skin. I'd suggest watching a high-budget porno instead...

This was slightly better than I had anticipated, but the basic plot was a little too routine for my tastes. Individual scenes were often unusual, and this helped to keep me interested, but most of the central developments were obvious and they kept my enjoyment of the movie at a minimum. This movie was certainly a decent time killer, but with a story this routine, I would need some good comedy or exciting action in order to overlook the standard plot.

Paul Hipp is a cook living in Paris with half-sister/lover Carolyn Lowery. He's also deep in debt and wants to open a restaurant in Miami. Ms Lowery is trying to be a model, but having no luck. Hipp tries to get out of debt by being a drug mule for a new super-drug, but is caught and sent to prison. Ms Lowery accepts an invitation to become a member of a ring of well-trained call girls for very wealthy men led by pervy Ben Gazzara. While she works with buttoned-down American diplomat Jerome Asher to try to get Hipp out of prison, his fellow embassy worker Tom Gilroy sees her as an opportunity to bust the ring and and endear himself to the father of one of the ring's girls who was killed.

Because I looked at this movie on Retroplex, I believe it's been censored. Even so, it looks like it would be pretty much of an R rating. Director Sandy Whitelaw tries for a cold, almost clinical air that contrasts with several shocking shots. Despite its well-plotted twists and Gazzara's ability to be creepy on the screen it's essentially a juvenile fantasy.